On Friday February 10th, Van Nuys held an alumni game where volleyball players who graduated from Van Nuys High reunited and went face-to-face against both the current boys and girls teams.
The girls started off the night by winning both sets against the alumni team. While the current lady Wolves ended up beating the alumni, they believed that the score did not matter since they were more focused on having fun together.
While some appreciated the game because it was an opportunity to reunite with their old team, others rejoiced in playing their last game with the seniors.
“I enjoyed most being able to see my old team and play with them again,” said Claudia Segura, an alumni player.
“What I enjoyed most about the game was getting the girls back together for one last game in the den. It really brought a sense of closure and a really positive way to close out my high school volleyball career,” said Alyssa Islas, a current Van Nuys athlete.
To start off the boys alumni game, the Wolves started off strong, being able to block some of the alumni’s hardest spikers. Their communication proved successful as they told each other where to go and asked who wanted to bump the ball up to set up a play.
In the second set, the alumni team was determined to win and had a 6-1 lead against the Wolves. However, the Wolves did not put up an easy fight and came back towards the end of the second set. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t enough, and the alumni team won the second set.
When it came down to the final points of the game, both teams were focused and intent on winning. Antonieco Erasmo assisted the Wolves greatly by setting the ball for them, giving them multiple opportunities to get good spikes against the alumni team, which was a main factor in the last set.
With both teams trying their hardest throughout the whole evening, the Wolves ended up beating the alumni team 25-20 in the third set, and the Lady Wolves had a clean 2-0 sweep. Both current teams won and got revenge on the alumni after losing to them in the 2020 alumni game.
“Our alumni team came in with different mindsets, some of them wanted to go out there and win. Others wanted to take the game casually, which meant we weren’t always cohesive. This meant our side was pretty inconsistent with our performance, which is fine since I think we all had fun regardless,” said Jake Stanley, a member of the alumni team.
“I loved the game! We worked hard for the past 2 weeks to make it happen and seeing it come to fruition was really gratifying. Everyone felt so together, even people who haven’t met each other before,” said Antonieco Erasmo, the Wolves setter.
Win or lose, both teams didn’t care if they won or not, they both had the same win which was the experience and getting together after years of being apart. Although the alumni team lost, their highlight of the night was getting to see their old school, and friends, and being together again as a team.
