![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Junior varsity boys volleyball lost to Monta Vista High School 25-23, 23-25 and 9-15 in the Zhang Gymnasium on April 24.
Setter Nathaniel Steeg (9) opened the set and opposite Weston Smith (10) delivered a kill that gave the Eagles the first point. Outsides Kyle Chun (9) and Luke Xing (9) carried out a series of kills to pull Harker ahead 6-4, and middle Brendan Kong (10) executed a tip that brought the score to 10-6. However, Monta Vista quickly fought back with kills that tied the score 10-10. Middle back Riki Kawano (10) brought Harker in the lead again and delivered an ace to make the score 16-15.
For the remainder of the set, the Eagles and the Matadors stayed neck-to-neck, with Weston and Riki earning Harker points through kills. At 19-19, Brendan sent the ball over the net, and Monta Vista’s block deflected it out of bounds. After the Matadors called a timeout at 22-20, Nathaniel passed to Weston for a kill that closed out the first set with an Eagles win 25-23.
“We were actually playing with passion and energy, and we were playing cohesively,” Weston said. “Some games will have it where the ball will drop in between people, and they just don’t know who’s where and who’s doing what. But this game, we’re going after everything. People were shouting, communicating well, and we were actually fighting as if we wanted to win instead of just giving up.”
The second set started with Monta Vista earning the first three points on the board, but setter Nathaniel Steeg (9) responded with a kill off a touch that pulled the score to 1-3. After hitting errors from both teams, Riki executed two kills. Following a back-and-forth, and Kyle tipped the ball for 11-12.
After a long rally, the Eagles hit the ball out of bounds and Harker’s defense began to waver, often struggling to receive the ball. Kyle jumped to spike the ball but hit it into the net, giving Monta Vista a slight advantage 12-16. Nathaniel’s block and Riki’s tip tied the score 23-23, but after the Eagles hit the ball into the net, they ended the second set with a 23-25 loss.
Riki emphasized the team’s focus on keeping a positive mindset during high-pressure moments, noting that players worked to help each other as the match tightened late in the second set.
“If someone makes a mistake, we try to support each other and remind them it’s okay,” Riki said. “It’s easy to dwell on one bad play, but usually everyone else has already moved on.”
The Matadors gained an early lead in the final set, with Harker not scoring a single point until a Monta Vista player hit the ball out of bounds that slightly tightened their lead 1-7. Nathaniel set the ball to Luke, who delivered a kill off a touch, but otherwise Eagles mainly scored off Matadors’ errors. Two kills from Brendan brought the score to 7-14, but the Matadors sealed their win after the Eagles hit the ball out of bounds and Harker finished trailing 9-15.
Although the game ended in an Eagles loss, Weston commented on how the team was able to maintain strong intensity and energy throughout the match.
“Before the game, lots of players in the locker room, since we’ve lost to them twice, were like, ‘Game’s already over,’” Weston said. “But since we were able to make it so close until the third set, it taught me that you really have a chance, if you just play and actually put out passion [because] then the other team will have to fold under the pressure.”
Assistant coach CJ Mecham echoed a similar sentiment, commending the team for staying persistent even playing a hard opponent.
“[The highlight of the game] was the confidence that they came in with, knowing that we’ve lost to Monta Vista twice already,” Mecham said. “Some teams might be put off by that score record against another team, but they came out playing: we won the first set and the second set was really close. So the confidence was really good.”
Weston shared goals for future games this season, emphasizing the team’s determination to improve and prove themselves against opponents they struggled against.
“There’s one other team that we’ve lost to,” Weston said. “I want to go out there and show them that we’re gonna beat them, especially since we’ve seen that we can go so close with a team that’s dominating the league.”
The team currently holds an overall 3-3 record and will play Mountain View High School tomorrow.
