Tuesday, April 29, the NC varsity boys volleyball team (3-7) faced Creekview High School (9-2) in the Arena gymnasium. After a 2-0 loss against the Creekview Grizzlies March 25, the Warriors entered determined to cinch a win on their last home game of the season.
Despite scheduling confusion at the start of the night, the boys’ team continued their warmup as usual. By practicing serves and spikes, the Warriors utilized their additional time to further their skills before the upcoming match. When Creekview arrived at NC, both teams geared up for a face-off.
“I’m really proud of [the team]. Managing them is one of my favorite things, I love the sport and the team. The game showed off their skills and how much they’ve grown since the start of the season. That game put a spotlight on our freshman players and our senior hitters, it was a source of pride,” magnet senior team manager Angel Chung said.
To start the match, the Grizzlies and the Warriors lined up on opposing sides of the court, and at the sound of the referee’s whistle, the end player raced to the net. Luckily for NC, the speedy senior outside hitter Jayden Joseph (6) bolted to the middle line first, securing the first serve for the Warriors. Junior setter Liam Kimani (15) started off, acquiring NC’s first point, but ultimately squandered a point to the Grizzlies.
As the first set continued, the rivals continuously switched off possession of the ball through multiple errors and calls from the referee. Amidst numerous turnarounds, notable Warrior player, magnet senior outside hitter Brandon Nguyen-Weissbach (9) played with all his might, taking control of the ball with his successful serves.
Additionally, magnet junior outside hitter Collin Thompson (1) and senior libero Dang Nguyen (13) displayed impressive teamwork, with their camaraderie continuing to portray defense against the Grizzlies and racking up points for NC. While Creekview kept up with the Warriors, that did not stop the NC team from their diligence or power, such as senior middle hitter Jaiden Nichols’s (5) fierce spike that brought the score to 6-7.
With ferocious speed and abnormal mistakes that maintained a neck-and-neck first set, Thompson, Nguyen, Joseph and Nguyen-Weissbach shone through with impressive digs and undeniable dedication. However, throughout the fight, the Warriors remained unable to pull through. Relentless spikes from the Grizzlies left Nguyen unable to defend NC’s side, though he stayed scrappy and attempted digs. As they lost their close follow-up on Creekview’s score, the gap grew, leading to the unfortunate 16-25 loss of the first set for NC.
As the second set approached, the team rallied to put their leading foot forward. However, their anticipation began to settle after Creekview scored eight straight points with out hits and missed blocks. After a mistake on Creekview’s part that put the Warriors on the board, the team used momentum to raise the score to 3-8. Feeling confident, the Warriors faced a serve with gallant teamwork and precision, but ultimately granted Creekview another point due to an out. A successive series of spikes racked up Creekview’s total to a staggering 18 points, whereas NC continued to trail with eight.
In the middle of the set, the Warriors received a bolt of energy when junior Maxwell Thou (7) spiked the ball at the net, raising NC’s score by one point. Kimani harvested a handful of artful hits that granted NC minor successes, but his streak ultimately ended on an out-of-bounds serve. As the score settled at 22-15 in Creekview’s favor, NC experienced a minor comeback when Nguyen and Thompson attained a few helpful hits over the net to stump the opposing team. Ultimately, NC fell short of winning the game by a hair as Creekview clutched the victory, scoring 25 points to NC’s 20.
Despite the disappointment associated with the loss, the Warriors still feel significant pride in their season, with seniors feeling like they left everything they could on the court. With the end finally arriving, the future of NC’s varsity boys’ volleyball shines bright due to the love each team member expresses for the sport and one another.
“I feel like the team has gotten a lot better, even though our record doesn’t really show it. We’ve had some really high highs and some tough lows, but it’s all been part of a great journey. As for yesterday’s game, I definitely think we should’ve played better. We’ve grown so much as a team, especially skill-wise, but we didn’t bring our best that day. It took us too long to settle into the game, and by the time we found our rhythm, it was too late to make a comeback,” Nguyen-Weissbach said.
The Chant wishes the NC boys’ volleyball team luck in all of their future endeavors. Go Warriors!
