On April 29th, the Varsity Boys' Volleyball team played their first district game against the Hallandale Chargers. The Panthers came onto the court with extremely high energy and were hoping to win the game 3-0. The boys were able to bring home the win with 3-1, although this wasn’t the prediction they had expected.
Our Panthers started off the first set winning 25-20. They could hold the ball for most of the time until they got caught in a serve receive which caused the Chargers to win a couple of points. However, the boys were able to bring it back and finish off winning the set with Alejandro Guitterrez with an amazing serving streak.
Sophomore Alejandro Guitterrez, felt as though he held his own and played a really good game. Although he felt that they could've won quicker, his team was stuck in a serve receive but, he did want to win the game a little quicker.
He did however have some highlights throughout the game including his serving streak that he was very proud of and was able to keep his energy drastically high throughout. He believes that he and his team could work on better communication together so they could have won the set they unfortunately lost.
As well as followed by what he could work on himself which includes maintaining a better mentality and not getting frustrated as easily. Throughout the game, he also felt a little stressed, Alejandro states, “I was stressed at first since it was a district game, however when I wasn't playing my best, Coach Harwell gave me pep talks and then I just shook off any bad mistakes instead of beating myself up. I also listened to my teammates and took their advice accordingly to improve my skills on the court.”
Sophomore Marlon Certuche, also believes that the Panthers could’ve done better and they wanted to win the game with 3-0 and 10 plus points going towards each set. Although, he felt as though his team did not work together whatsoever. He does believe there are some things that he could work on, including better communication, effort, and energy. However, his highlight of the game was junior Aakash’s back-row attack which won the game.
He was also feeling quite a bit stressed throughout the game, as Marlon states, “I was a little stressed at the beginning knowing it was a district game and there was a possibility that this game against Hallandale would be our last, but that stress went away when I got on the court and realized we had a good chance of winning the game and advancing to the next round.”
Overall, the boys played an exceptionally good game and were able to advance to the next round against Cardinal Gibbons. The Varsity boys volleyball played well although they did face some challenges they were able to overcome. Hopefully, they do good against Cardinal Gibbons and bring home a winning streak.