After a win against Harrison High School (0-6) March 25, the NC Warriors boys volleyball orange team (2-5), also referred to as the varsity team, took on the Sprayberry High School Yellow Jackets (5-7) Tuesday, April 1, in NC’s arena. As the orange team prepared to perform to their best ability Tuesday evening, coaches, students and families in the stands cheered on their favorite players to hype up the game, showering players with unwavering support.
“To prepare for games and tournaments to help motivate us, we remind ourselves how we played and how we felt and what the energy was like at our previous wins. We try hard to replicate that energy on the court to keep that momentum going and to keep winning. Volleyball is much more of a mental game than it appears and reminding ourselves of what our mentally was when were winning is just training our minds to think that way in game,” magnet junior and outside hitter Collin Thompson (1)
As players stretched their bodies and prepped for their first set of the night, the starting players lined up on the court, ready for action. Magnet junior setter Liam Kimani (15), junior middle hitter Maxwell Thou (7), junior right side Keith Kamau (8), senior libero Dang Nguyen (13) and senior outside hitter David Achamaja (3), Thompson and Thou laid out set one to kick off the match. Along with the heightened levels of chants and cheers from sideline Warriors, Thou sped to victory as he scored the first three kills of the evening. As the Yellow Jackets attempted to score, multiple out-of-bound hits led to a slow but steady defeat of Sprayberry in the first set. Thompson, Thou and Kamau scored three additional kills, although an unfortunate mishap on NC’s side led the Yellow Jackets to receive their first point. NC rose to the top with an 8-1 score within minutes.
Thompson continued the Warrior streak with intense kills from the far side of the court, showcasing his strength in the sport alongside magnet senior outside hitter Brandon Nguyen-Weissbach (9) as he revealed his fierce blocking skills. Continuing on through the game, the Yellow Jackets repeatedly committed various attack errors in their plays, which tallied up NC’s point alongside the impressive kills and aces from the Warriors. The Yellow Jackets began amping up their game and scored five additional points from short-court kills. Through continuous support and advice from teammates and Lady Warrior volleyball (34-16) players, Thompson scored an additional two kills, bringing the scoreboard up to 18-6. With determination and success, NC took the win for set 1 with a score of 25-11, leaving one final set left and NC in the lead.
After a quick break and group huddle, the starting serve for set two, executed by Kimani, allowed for a tie in kills for both teams. The Yellow Jackets hit two kills within minutes of the second set, which left the Warriors tense and the scoreboard at 2-3. Kamau and Thompson brought NC points back up with additional kills, although the points kept swinging back and forth as both teams improved their game. As NC players continuously rotated out, exhaustion began to hit the players one by one, which was revealed through their play. NC unsuccessfully followed through with serves and blocking attempts, which brought the scores close together and allowed the Yellow Jackets to take the lead. The Warriors and Yellow Jackets began a back-and-forth game as each team impressively gained points. The score reached 14-7 before an accidental fall from Thou.
After a quick re-huddle, kills from sophomore Right Side John Stansell (4), senior outside hitter Jayden Joseph (6), Achamaja and Thou, the Warriors quickly rerouted their path back to success and raised the score to 22-17. With out-of-bound points from the Yellow Jackets and three additional kills from teammates, the Warriors took home the win, ending the score 25-19.
“Tonight’s game was really great and we really practiced for this and a couple of weeks ago they [Sprayberry] beat us, so we were like, ‘No, we’re not losing again,’ so we came back stronger. We had a tournament last Saturday and we walked into this game with a different mindset. One of our teammates is actually injured, so we said we were going to do this for him and win for him, so we changed our mindset to just win,” Kamau said.
With a confident first set and an intense second set, the NC boys’ volleyball team showcased their work ethic and collaboration skills throughout the court. This feat for the boys’ volleyball team helped motivate the players to reach new possibilities individually and collectively.
The Chant would like to wish the Warriors the best of luck for the remainder of their season!
