March 28, NC varsity boys’ volleyball (0-6) squared off at Harrison High School to face the rival Hoyas (2-2) for the second time this season. The JV team (1-5) played on a court adjacent to the varsity matchup. The Warriors, nearly halfway into the first boys’ season since 2019, have struggled to catch their footing among opponents who have polished their programs for the greater part of the last decade. Head coach Stephen Sansing helped reinstall this year as the program stalled after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 season opener.
“We were actually supposed to have our first game the day that COVID shut us down, so we never played. The next year, the school wouldn’t let us have a team, because of COVID. Then all the guys graduated, and we didn’t have any players left. It’s now been four years… It’s not necessarily the first-ever team, but for these guys, it might as well be,” Sansing said.
Sansing, the 2024 state champion coach of the girls’ volleyball team, noted drastic improvements in both varsity and JV performances. He refers to the two teams as orange and navy, rather than varsity and JV, to pay respect to the rather equal level of talent within both teams.
The first set for the orange squad opened up with a 13-2 run by the Hoyas, pinning the Warriors in a hole. After two strikes from Harrison landed out of bounds, the Warriors looked to capitalize on the momentum. A long rally unfortunately ended with another Hoyas score, and NC would only tack on two more points in the 25-6 first set.
The Navy team, however, managed to put on a fight, sharing points during a 9-11 campaign with Harrison up by two. Junior blocker Jaiden Nichols (5) led on both ends for the Warriors with two blocks and three consecutive kills to patch on the Warriors’ 14th point in the set. The Hoyas maintained their lead and finished the set 25-16.
After a quick two points from Harrison to open up set two, the Warriors’ orange sophomore blocker Collin Thompson (27) came up with an electric block and followed it up by hammering a kill into Hoya territory. The opponents traded scores until Thompson tied the match 6-6 with another block. Harrison answered with a 9-2 run. Senior libero Diego Carreras (9) managed a dig to pull the Warriors back in the game and set up a kill by Thompson.
The Navy Warriors’ matchup started with another block and kill by Nichols, which fired up the NC bench. Despite the team’s strong defensive effort, Harrison scored eleven early points to NC’s three. Benefitted by intense and fast-paced rallies, the Hoyas managed to fend off the Warriors, winning set two. Both NC teams lost their matches 0-2, but Sansing highlighted key improvements he witnessed against Harrison.
“We are new, but we have really improved a lot, even from the first game of the season. I love the fact that they give great effort, they want to learn and they want to get better. We did pretty good on long rallies, but it’s the ones where the first serve beats us that we have to do better,” Sansing said.
With two weeks rest, The Warriors face off next against the Allatoona Buccaneers (6-0) Thursday, April 11 at Allatoona.
