Varsity boys volleyball defeats Homestead in four sets on senior night
Following the senior night tradition for the team, Tufuga placed all six seniors in the starting lineup for each match. Harker opened the first set by struggling to return the swings by Homestead and falling a 3-7 deficit. The Eagles were unable to counter, as the Mustangs continued to fire kills, bringing the score to 6-19. Even with a two point serving streak from co-captain and middle blocker Rahul, the Eagles were unable to overcome the initial fumbles, with the score sitting at 10-22. After an out-of-bounds hit off libero Luke Wu’s (11) serve, Harker lost the first set 14-25.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of energy, and maybe we underestimated them a bit,” opposite hitter Liam said. “We just came out a bit cold, but then we got back together and believed in ourselves. We came back by being focused, like not letting so many balls drop on the ground, going for everything and minimizing the small errors, the errors that just don’t need to happen.”
In the second set, with both teams unable to return serves, Harker and Homestead entered into an initial 6-6 tie. Homestead went on a serving streak, widening the score gap 7-10. After continued out-of-bounds hits by the Mustangs and a one-on-one block by Liam, the Eagles and Mustangs entered into a deuce at 12-12 and again at 14-14. Strong defense by outside hitter Jacob and a kill by middle blocker Max carried Harker ahead 18-16. Both teams were neck and neck with the last few points until at game point, Max executed a kill to win the set 25-23.
The Mustangs began the third set with fumbled serves and hits, allowing Harker to lead 5-3. As the two teams traded points, co-captain outside hitter Aaron’s serving streak brought Harker ahead to 13-10. While Homestead attempted several hits, Aaron and opposite hitter Liam bypassed Homestead’s defense to maintain Harker’s lead at 17-15. Homestead struggled to return serves by Luke Wu (11), increasing the score gap 22-15. After Aaron’s floater serve, Rahul executed a kill, winning the set 25-19.
Middle blocker Rahul felt motivated by the spectators, appreciating their encouragement in helping their team morale so they could take the win.
“It’s easy to keep your mood up when you’re up in the game and you’re near winning, but it’s really hard to keep your mood up when you’re down,” Rahul said. “It’s an important game. No matter what, you just got to keep your mood up. That’s just what brings the team together because volleyball’s a team sport at the end of the day.”
Both teams exchanged points as the fourth set commenced, entering into a 5-5 tie. Rahul executed a 3-point serving streak, but kills from Homestead tied the game again 8-8. Consecutive kills by Max and Luke increased the lead to 12-9. For the rest of the set, Harker maintained their lead, shutting down Homestead attempts to overcome Harker’s defense. After Jacob returned a jump serve, setter Advay set the ball for Liam to hit, bringing the score 15-12. Dives by Luke and Aaron allowed for Liam and Max to complete kills and bring the score 24-19. A long rally with scrappy defense on both sides ended with a kill from Aaron to win 25-20.
“In this game we really showed up for our seniors and made sure that we didn’t give up, especially in the later sets and that’s why we came back from that loss,” Luke said. “It’s kind of emotional and bittersweet because I’ve played with these seniors for the past two or three years, and they feel like family. At the same time that we’re celebrating our win, we’re also celebrating the successes we’ve had together over the years and saying goodbye.”
The team holds a 25-8 overall record and concluded their CCS run with a close semifinal defeat by Archbishop Mitty.