by Michelle Nhi Nguyen, Staff Writer/Photographer
Boys varsity volleyball played their first home game of the season against St. John Bosco High School on Thursday, March 3, losing in a close match 3-1.
Despite their overall loss, the Barons demonstrated their girth and stamina during all four sets, ending the night with close scores of 22-25, 18-25, 25-22 and 18-25.
Both teams battled hard the entire night, keeping the level of tensions high with their hard-driven hits, strong blocking and loud cheers.
Star players for the Barons included outside hitter Ben Minch (‘18), who announced his presence from the left side of the court with his multiple kills, and outside hitter Downey Huynh (‘17) who had strong jump serves from the back line.
They were ultimately overpowered after facing the opposing team’s strong offense, as well as the tough calls from the referee for multiple double contacts, lifts, and net violations.
The boys are working hard to improve for the rest of the season with practices in the gym every day after school and at the beach on Saturdays.
“We expect to do better [than last year] this season, especially because other teams in our league like Huntington Beach lost some of their key players,” said Defensive Specialist Sean Nguyen (‘16).
This first loss of the season failed to diminish the team’s hopes to qualify for CIF.
“I have a feeling we will be able to make it into CIF…” said libero Dustin Nguyen (‘16). “[There are] new players in varsity this year that have a lot of potential in them, and that adds even more greatness to the team.”
