The varsity boys volleyball team crushed Harbor High School 25-8, 25-14, 25-12 in the semifinals on May 11 at home.
Harker started off strong over the Pirates and scored many points through a combination of kills and Harbor’s errors, progressing the score to 8-1. Harker stumbled a bit, with Harbor earning a couple of points on a freeball and a block, but the Eagles quickly resumed their previous pace, with two stuff blocks by middle blocker Edis Mesic (11) propelling Harkers’ lead to 18-6. The Eagles easily finished the set out with kills from Spencer and Zachary, concluding the match 25-8.
Harker, picking up from the former set, scored kill after kill early on to start the second . Later on, they made some unforced errors in the match which helped Harbor shorten the score gap. Harker managed to hold a lead over the Pirates, with notable plays going to Aaron, who earned four kills within the span of six points, bringing the score to 15-7. At 17-10, Harbor called a timeout after serving out of bounds but was unable to put a stop to the Eagles’ momentum. Though Harbor made a late push with a couple of kills, Harker led the final stretch of the game, shutting out the Pirates 25-14 in a four-point scoring run marked by a kill and a block from Edis, a setter dump from Adrian and a kill from Aaron.
Harker and Harbor stayed even at the beginning of the third and final set due to both teams missing serves and swings. The Eagles started taking control of the set after 7-5, building up a stable lead through a tip kill from Edis and a block from Rahul. The Pirates called a timeout at 12-6, and after, Harker continued to dominate the match with kills from Rahul, Aaron, Spencer and Edis, catapulting the score to 19-9. Edis also earned two more kills in the match, one on a tip and the other on a swing, and Adrian scored a significant point on a surprise setter swing on the second contact, upping the score to 24-12. Aaron closed the game 25-12 with a kill.
“We expected to have a tougher competition, but when we didn’t have that big challenge, it was a little bit tough to be focused and play good volleyball all of the time,” Adrian said. “Especially in some of the third set, we were breaking down; we were just messing around a little bit, and I think that was reflected in the score. But near the end, we were able to play good volleyball.”
The varsity boys volleyball team bested Saratoga High School in three sets, 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 in the quarterfinals at home on May 9.
At the start of the first set, the Eagles and the Falcons exchanged kills, going point for point until Harker gained an early edge at 9-5 with a block by Edis and Spencer and missed swings from Saratoga. The Eagles continued putting pressure on the Falcons, with two kills each from Edis and Aaron, forcing a Saratoga timeout at 13-7. The Falcons were unable to make a comeback, and Harker maintained the lead with kills from Zachary, Spencer and Edis, bringing the final score to 25-17.
“Everyone was really hyped even though the crowd was breathing on us a bit,” Rahul said. “With our crowd and our own players we challenged them.
Harker led the start of the second set, with two roofs from the Eagles and multiple hitting and serving errors from Saratoga that helped Harker push ahead. At 9-3, the Falcons called a timeout and slowly narrowed the Eagles’ advantage, bringing the score up to 17-14. However, Harker made a late offensive push, earning four kills and a block to end the set 25-16. Overall, Mattson was proud of the game and the team’s consistency.
“Our errors were [minimal]; we didn’t let the crowd get to us,” Mattson said. “We kept the momentum on our side, and when we had a couple of lulls, we got out of them pretty quickly.”
Once again, Harker took the lead in the beginning of the third set, progressing to 7-3 due to four kills from the Eagles and Saratoga’s missed swings. The Eagles kept up this momentum, securing two kills each from Aaron and Rahul, and advanced the score to 12-7. Harker then made a series of unforced errors and called a timeout at 15-13. After the timeout, the Eagles and Falcons went back and forth, keeping the score even until 18-17, when Saratoga also started making mistakes, eventually leading them to call a timeout at 21-17. The Falcons came out with a stronger offense, but because Harker already held a lead, they were able to narrowly beat out Saratoga, concluding the quarterfinals game 25-22 with a kill from Spencer.
“I’m excited if we can keep winning games and just have really good moments with the team,” Zachary said. “It’s really exciting getting the crowd hyped and also getting the team those points.”
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