The last chance towards entering a championship boys volleyball had was in the 2022 Division II playoffs, where they caught themselves in a 3-0 defeat in the finals against the Narbonne Gauchos.
However, their gameplay only worsened in the following year. Last season, the first opponent they intended on taking down were the Monroe Vikings. Unfortunately for them, the Wolves were met with a gloomy 3-0 defeat, losing in the first round.
After ending the regular season with an intermediate record of 14-13, the Wolves clinched a spot in the Division I playoffs exceeding from a Division II bracket, meaning the competition only got harder. The team was thrilled to play in the playoffs, fired up with redemption to have a better season than the last.
As the day of the first round approached, the team that got in the boys way of advancing in the bracket was Poly High School, who they played on Tuesday, April 29.
In the first set, a lack of defense ended up in the Poly Parrots taking it with a score of 25-20. However, the Wolves started to flip the script, as they started hustling more on defense, stopping the Parrot’s vicious attacks. This, as well as the team’s strong chemistry on offense, resulted in them winning the next three sets in a row, and ultimately a triumphant 3-1 win.
As the team was fueled with confidence going into the quarter finals which occurred on Thursday, May 2, the team played against Carson High School.
The Carson Colts were on the Wolves’ tail for the most part in the first set, but the team was able to pull through, having surprising dumps and powerful kills, winning 26-24.
Even though their crumbling defense led them to lose 25-13 in the second set, the Wolves started to remember what they were playing for and successfully bounced back in the next sets, winning with a staggering score of 3-1. Junior Christian Callos and seniors Devin Brown and Noah Baek were a huge contribution in this game, as Callos would set the ball perfectly for Brown and Baek to spike.
After advancing from the quarter finals to the semis, the team’s hopes of winning the whole thing was at its peak. Unfortunately for them, what they didn’t know at the time was that these manifests would later be crushed in the semifinals.
As they headed to the semifinals on Monday, May 6, they played against Venice High School, who ended their regular season with a positive record of 36-15. For the most part, the Venice Gondoliers were ahead for all the sets, sweeping the Wolves with a score of 3-0. Although the boys volleyball team fought hard to come out on top of each set, their efforts were constantly stopped by the Gondoliers.
This loss marked the end of an amazing season from the Wolves, who made it much further in the playoffs than in last year. Many of the seniors and the underclassmen were filled with grief, knowing it was gonna be one of the last times they ever played with each other. Nevertheless, they have made many cherishable memories which are gonna be one to remember.
Knowing how far they have come, as long as they keep their heads high and keep working hard in the off season, there are high hopes of making it to the finals and even winning the championship.
