On Friday, March 15, Varsity Boys Volleyball won against Homestead High School 3-0. Although MVHS started off the first set with a big lead, HHS was able to catch up, leaving the team to narrowly win by 25-22. According to coach Paul Chiu, MVHS was missing many players when the game first started due to injury or other reasons, forcing the team to improvise its starting lineup.
“A bunch of people didn’t show up on time today, so we had to throw a makeshift lineup out there, and those kids fought hard,” Chiu said. “We got some timely swings and we forced Homestead to make a lot of mistakes.”
MVHS maintained a consistent lead in the second set, winning 25-19. Despite this, senior and libero Rahul Pothineni thinks the team could have played better, especially in regards to serves. Chiu agrees, adding that the team was missing about four to five serves per set.
“We have to make more serves — especially the guys who come off the bench,” Chiu said. “It’s not an easy situation, but I’m not even putting pressure on them to serve specific locations. They just have to put it in play.”
Despite struggling with serves, MVHS was still able to secure a close third set, winning 25-22. Chiu attributes its win to the good defense MVHS was able to maintain. He adds that the players were successful at diving and keeping the ball in play, which helped score points.
“They hustle like they always do,” Chiu said. “They play hard. We forced Homestead to make mistakes, or we transitioned back and got the points. I was really pleased with that.”
Although the team was missing its main outside hitter, senior Elijah Kang, due to injuries, Pothineni believes the team was able to play well. He credits the win to perseverance and teamwork and is proud of the team’s resilience.
“We played through adversity because we’ve never played lineups like this before,” Pothineni said. “We were just able to persevere through their come-backs, and with the lineup we had, it was really great to see.”
This game brings MVHS to a 5-4 overall season score, with MVHS standing in fourth in the De Anza league. Chiu hopes that with this win, the team will continue to improve and eventually compete in CCS.
“Our goal is to make CCS and be competitive in the CCS playoffs,” Chiu said. “We’re the only team so far who has taken a set off the top two teams, and we can be more competitive within the league.”
