![“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)
Varsity boys volleyball lost to Mountain View High School 25-23, 22-25, 19-25, 26-28 in an away game on May 4.
The Spartans opened the first set with two kills and an ace to take an early 0-3 lead, but middle Kairui Sun (12) responded with a kill to put the Eagles on the board. Co-captain and outside hitter Topaz Lee (12) followed with a swing. After another kill from Kairui and an ace from Topaz, Harker tied the set to 4-4. Opposite hitter Aydin Mesic (10) delivered several kills, and outside hitter Gary Xu (10) aced to tie the score 9-9. Mountain View called a timeout after middle Spencer Mo (11) aced with Harker up 20-18. Two consecutive kills from Topaz closed the set with a victory for the Eagles, 25-23.
The Eagles started the second set down 0-3 from three consecutive Spartan kills, but setter Mikhil Kiran (12) soon won their first point with a kill off a block. The Spartans maintained their lead to 1-6, but an ace and blocks from libero Luke Wu (12), brought the Eagles back 6-6. Although the score was close for the rest of the set, a block from Mountain View cost Harker the set at 22-25, tying the overall game 1-1.
Setter Dillon Ho (11) commended how the team found success offensively.
“I think what went well today was our swinging and our serving,” Dillon said. “We had a lot of great swings on our side, and we were also good at keeping the ball in the court on the serves. Towards the end, our energy definitely lacked in some departments. We also had a lot of errors on swings.”
The Spartans opened the third set with a 2-6 lead, capitalizing off the Eagle’s missed hits and serves. After extending their lead to 4-11, Harker called a timeout. With Topaz scoring kills and blocks, the Eagles narrowed the Spartans’ lead to 14-16. Though the Eagles won five points off a kill from Spencer and multiple Spartan net violations, Mountain View won the set at 19-25,.
Assistant coach Mason Ward emphasized the team’s resilience despite starting the set trailing many points.
“We started down each set, and it’s tricky to fire up and come back, but we made it a four-set game, and we bounced back,” Ward said. “Starting down five or six points is not easy, and the serves really hurt us today, but we kept the other team in the game.”
In the fourth set, Kairui and Spencer’s kills won the first points for the Eagles, earning a 3-2 lead. With Aydin also sending kills and Mountain View missing the ball, Harker tied the score at 10-10 and the teams continued to trade points. After setter Brandon Labio (11) aced and Kairui killed, Harker pulled ahead 23-21. Hits from Topaz gave Harker the set point at 24-23, but after the Eagles missed a serve and a receive, Mountain View took the match point at 24-25. The Eagles hit the ball out of bounds and lost the set 26-28 and the match 1-3.
“The first set, we definitely did well,” Dillon said. “We kept them in our tempo. It was under control. If we just played like that the entire time, we probably would have won.”
The Eagles ended their season with a hard-fought match against Harbor High School in the CCS Quarterfinals.
