Silence precedes the serve. Players crouch readily as one player tosses the ball far above his head, jumps, and pounds it over the net. Suddenly, the room fills with screaming and cheering.
The JV boys volleyball team played the Mills Vikings on Wednesday, April 26. The game began at 5:30 p.m., as a result of the Mills team arriving 20 minutes late to the originally scheduled time of 5 p.m.
“Our team was kind of out of it in the beginning because of the communication error with the other team. We were a little rusty, but winning the first set calmed down the nerves,” said coach Bobby Walton.
This was the team’s eleventh game and second to last one this year. The season had not been kind to the Scots, with only two wins thus far. However, camaraderie and teamwork brought the young team together throughout the season.
“This group is a bunch of characters. They love to joke around and they all get along very well. This bond definitely shows on the court,” said Walton.
Only two players on the team have played volleyball before. Everyone else is brand new to the sport, and so far, the feelings for the sport have been positive.
“There are a lot of different roles in volleyball. There are the hitters, who get the points, and there’s my position of the libero, who is the defensive wall. It’s really fun to see all of these positions come together to win points for the team,” said Ezekiel Licudine, a sophomore.
The positions came together in this game, as it ended in a draw, a result far better than the losses suffered by the Scots throughout the season.
However, some of the players weren’t so happy with the outcome of the game.
“It was kind of a disappointment that they didn’t show up earlier, and that we tied them even though they only formed two weeks ago,” said Ethan Mayoss, a freshman. “We were really unorganized.”
The Scots lost the second set in a close race to 25 points but fell short because they could not receive the hard spikes from the Viking’s outside hitters. The game ended in an unorthodox tie, as volleyball is usually played to three sets. Since the Mills team arrived late, the match could not be finished because the varsity game was set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Although the players played well and were rewarded with a favorable draw, some were still hard on themselves and the team.
“We weren’t expecting much from Mills,” said Licudine. “We thought they would be a weak team and the first impressions of them arriving late didn’t help. It kind of took the joy of the draw out of the match.”
The Scots have their final game against San Mateo high school on May 3.
