![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Varsity boys volleyball defeated Lynbrook in straight sets 29-27, 26-25 and 25-19 on April 30 in Zhang Gymnasium.
The Eagles gained an early 6-2 lead with strong serving from setter Brandon Labio (10) and kills from serving specialist Gary Xu (9) and opposite hitter Liam Jeffers (12). Harker extended the score to 11-2 before Lynbrook responded with a series of powerful serves, narrowing the gap to 12-9.
Both teams traded points, but Harker regained momentum with two kills from middle blocker Kairui Sun (11) and co-captain outside hitter Aaron Guo (12) to make the score 14-11. Lynbrook tied the score at 18-18 before pulling ahead after Harker hit out-of-bounds several times. Gary and Liam responded with kills that evened the score to 24-24. A Viking then hit out, extending the set to 26-26. After a kill and ace from Aaron, Harker won the set 29-27.
Reflecting on his performance after an intense first set, Gary acknowledged both the team’s strengths and his own areas for improvement.
“Our plays were good but a bit messy,” Gary said. “I wasn’t focused or intentional enough so I missed some serves, but my passing was really good today, even though it’s normally one of my weaknesses.”
Harker trailed early in set two after giving up points on serve receive errors, a net violation and multiple out-of-bounds plays, falling behind 2-7. The Vikings continued to capitalize after this series of Harker fumbles, bringing the score to 3-9.
Brandon broke the streak with a kill, and co-captain Rahul added several kills to bring the score to 7-12. A service ace from Yalla and a kill and an ace from Liam closed the gap to 13-16. Gary executed a kill at 14-19, but a violation by the Eagles pushed the deficit to 14-21.
Harker then won a long rally, and the Vikings made a series of errors, including an out-of-bounds hit and a net touch, which helped close the gap. Aaron delivered back-to-back blocks to bring the score to 20-22, and after a side-out from the Vikings, Rahul responded with two kills that tied the score at 23. After trading points to 25-all, Liam secured the final two points with consecutive kills, winning the set 27-25.
Jen Smith, mother of libero Jacob Smith (12), commented on the perseverance the team showed.
“We were quite surprised at the setbacks at the start of the set, but I feel like they made a good comeback,” Smith said. “They should work on blocking, but otherwise I think they’re doing really well. They’ve had some good passing, and their serves have been really great. We’re hoping that they can pull it off in three sets.”
Harker maintained momentum into the third set, with kills from Rahul, Gary and Aaron building a 14-10 lead. After a few miscommunications allowed Lynbrook to close the margin, Harker established control with a kill from Liam at 17-12 and another from Aaron at 19-14.
Aaron continued to find openings in the defense, increasing the score gap to 23-15. Rahul added a kill to make it 23-17 before Lynbrook closed the gap to 23-19. A service error by Lynbrook set up match point, and Harker secured a 25-19 win with an ace.
Despite missing one of their key outsides, Topaz Lee (11), due to a concussion, the team maintained quality plays throughout a match filled with long rallies. With standout moments in serving and passing, Aaron noted strong points as well as room for growth.
“It was a good long rally game for us,” Aaron said. “We weren’t the most consistent because we moved down a good amount of points in all three of those sets. But we were able to dig ourselves out of that hole through our service pressure and our defense.”
With a 24-7 overall record, the team secured their second straight SCVAL – De Anza league championship and await their CCS playoff schedule.
![Senior Gabe Sachse and sophomore Shaurya Jain hug after winning the game. “I don’t want to say goodbye because [the seniors] are my friends outside of baseball as well,” Shaurya said. “Either way, I wanted to go all out for the seniors.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/53-KAT_4240-e1747776384650-1200x778.jpg)
