The Arcadia High School (AHS) Boys Varsity Volleyball team faced Pasadena High School (PHS) in a home game on Mar. 10, emerging with a powerful victory of 3-0. Prior to this game, AHS had a win streak of 12 on the record, so many of the players went in confident in their abilities. 

“I came with a mindset of let’s finish this game quickly and have fun,” said senior Collin Hang. 

The first set started the game well for AHS, and the energy could be felt radiating off the bench and the stands. There were a few brief moments of confusion where AHS players bumped into each other, unsure of which person the ball was being set to. 

“I think I need to work on connecting with my setter more. I only got one solid hit this game,” said Hang, reflecting back on the game. 

However, the boys soon fell into rhythm, and teammates cheered loudly as AHS blocked many of PHS’s hits and scored even more of their own. As a result, the final score of the first set was 25-8. 

In the second set, senior Tyler Nguyen began a series of powerful spikes that dominated the opposing team. One particularly hard hit even bounced off the floor and hit the ceiling. The gym never stopped being full of energy on both sides of the court throughout the set, which ended with a score of 25-15. 

“There’s always room for improvement,” said Nguyen, commenting on his impressive performance, “I think that was probably about 10% of my power. I could probably keep practicing more, keep unlocking new abilities, new skills.” 

During the third and final set, PHS called many time-outs in an attempt to turn the game around. Since AHS had won the two previous sets, winning this third set was PHS’s last chance to possibly get a win. Both teams huddled up to discuss strategy and hype up their players for the final stretch. However, AHS was able to maintain their momentum and ended the set with a score of 25-11, finishing off the game. 

“With our team chemistry, our team energy, and just our talent and skill combined, there’s no stopping us,” said Nguyen, “We trust in our system, we trust in our coach, and we’re gonna keep putting our best foot forward, and we’re gonna keep performing for y’all.”