![“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 Mountain View High School 23-25, 25-22 and 12-15 in an away game on May 4.
The game started off with both teams trading points evenly before Mountain View pulled ahead to a 8-11 lead. Harker answered with six straight points, including an ace from outside hitter Kyle Chun (9) and a block from middle blocker Brendan Kong (10), bringing the score to 14-11. Mountain View cut the deficit after a kill and an ace, but Brendan responded with a kill to increase the Eagle’s lead to 15-13.
Harker then struggled with service and hitting errors, allowing Mountain View to go on a 8-0 run with three aces to pull ahead 15-21. The Eagles finally ended the scoring drought after a defensive dig led to a point, and a Spartan attack landed out of bounds to make the score 17-21. Kyle tipped the ball over the net to narrow the gap to 18-21, but a Harker service error and a Mountain View kill pushed the Spartans ahead 19-23.
Outside Luke Xing (9) hammered off three consecutive kills and setter Nathaniel Steeg (9) recorded a block to bring the score to 24-23. Harker then served out of bounds on the following point, losing the first set 23-25.
“We didn’t make the best decisions,” Kyle said. “There were a lot of times where we went off rhythm. There were some good highlights, and we did manage to claw ourselves back. It was just errors on our side, and we could have minimized that and it wouldn’t have been close.”
Brendan opened Harker’s scoring in the second set with a block, and Mountain View and Harker traded service errors to bring the score to 2-2. After the Spartans pulled ahead 5-2 with an ace, opposite Weston Smith (10) sent an attack that deflected out of bounds, and a Mountain View net violation brought Harker within one. An ace from Kyle tied the score 5-5, and Weston followed with a kill to give Harker a 6-5 lead.
The set remained close before Mountain View regained control with a 12-17 advantage after multiple Harker service errors and violations. The Eagles slowly cut into the lead through Spartan errors and stronger front-row play, including a block from Weston and a kill from middle back Riki Kawano (10). After a Mountain View kill and a Harker service error extended the deficit to 18-22, Kyle made multiple saves in a rally to set up a kill.
Nathaniel served an ace, and Luke tied the score 22-22 with another kill. Mountain View was unable to return a block from Brendan, giving Harker a 23-22 lead, and Luke closed the set with two straight kills to secure a 25-22 Eagles win.
“The energy was good,” head coach Diana Melendez said. “The effort is always there, but I think the highlight was players that are not usually in the positions that I put them in did well, so that helped the energy out. They’re very supportive of each other.”
Mountain View opened the final set with a kill and took an early 1-4 lead after a Harker net violation and an attack that failed to clear the net. Luke answered with a kill, and a Mountain View hit into the net brought Harker within one at 3-4.
The Spartans held a narrow lead as the teams traded points. Riki recorded a block to bring the score to 4-6, and after a Mountain View service error, he tipped the ball over the net to cut the deficit to 6-7. Kyle then served an ace to tie the set 7-7. Service errors from both teams kept the score tied at 8-8, but Mountain View pulled ahead after a Harker attack error and a deflection back onto Harker’s side.
Weston followed with a spike to bring the Eagles within two, and two Spartan errors narrowed the score to 12-13. However, the Spartans responded with a kill, and a net touch violation by the Eagles on match point gave Mountain View the final set 12-15, concluding the game 1-2.
Varsity boys volleyball player Kairui Sun (12), who also spectated the junior varsity game, highlighted the intensity of the rallies.
“I’m very excited to watch each one of these guys play more volleyball,” Kairui said. “No matter the result, it’s clear from their energy that they love the game, and that’s by far the most important thing.”
The team ended the season with an overall record of 6-4.
