Boys varsity volleyball team crushed Marina High School 3-1.
It was also Senior Night for the Barons; senior team members Patric Areyan, Ryan Bertram, Scott Cronick, Tyler Pennella, Shaquile Phuong, Johnny Richardson, Jake Thibodeau, Alvin Troung, and Andrew Wise were celebrated.
There was also a special guest present that night. Olympian Russell Holmes attended the game to support his Alma Mater and gave words of encouragement to the current team players.
Holmes graduated in 2001 and since then has gone off to play in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. “Just seeing the gym and feeling the atmosphere just brings back a whole lot of good memories… it makes me realize why I started in the first place,” said Holmes.
Holmes also gave advice to his fellow volleyball players. “More than the physical ability, desire is what’s going to take you that far. If you don’t love what you do, it’s hard to make it to the highest level of anything… if you really have a great passion for it, I think you can go really far, achieve a lot, whether it be volleyball or academics.”
The match started strong for the Barons as each serve hit its mark. As the game progressed Marina was always two steps behind as hurried to tally up their points. The first game was 24-21 in the Barons’ favor.
The second match was no different as the Barons continued to dominate over Marina. With exceptional teamwork, every member worked to get every point. There were impressive saves by Patric Areyan (’13) and Scott Cronick (’13) which paid off for FVHS as the second match ended 25-18.
Victory was imminent for FVHS as the boys established dominance early in the third match with effective blocks and Garrett Felix (’15) perfectly set the ball for impressive spikes from his team. The third and last match ended 26-24.
“The season has been rough but we are also in the toughest league in California and I am proud to say that we are a strong competitor in this league and have a chance to get far in CIF,” said Andrew Wise (’13).
“[This season] has been a major learning period that we have all grown immensely as both players and individuals and I’m looking forward to where these next games will take us.”
