As they hit the halfway point of their season, the Saint Francis boys’ volleyball team stands 5-3 in the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL), recently winning a thrilling game against Bellarmine College Preparatory. They also travelled to play in the annual Best of the West Invitational, where they won two games. With four league games and two big tournaments ahead, it will be exciting to see what this team accomplishes in the rest of their regular and postseason.
A significant game in their season thus far was a five-set battle against Bellarmine in an exciting WCAL rematch. After losing to the Bells early on, the Lancers were looking forward to taking them on again, including middle blocker Armaan Vaghode (’25) who was pumped for the game. Despite not having the home advantage that they had previously, the team came out with a win, taking the second, forth, and tie-breaking fifth set to win the game 3-2.
The players claim their improvement throughout the season is due to dedication and important habits. For example, practice played a crucial role after the team’s early losses. A typical practice starts with setting up the volleyball nets in the gym followed by a warm-up game. Recently, the team has been playing a “skinny court” swipe game where the court length is the same, but the width is less than half of a normal court. Then, the team does defensive drills with a partner to improve upon their different niches, which is followed by discussions on their previous games to discuss points of improvement. After some more drills, the team ends with scrimmaging so they can apply what they have worked on to active gameplay. Vaghode also spoke about the motto that Coach Jonah Carson instills within the team, “many hands make light work,” which the team tries to embody everyday at practice. This motto emphasizes the importance of success through teamwork and lifting each other up during the good and bad days.
There are also traditions and silly rituals that the team partakes in to strengthen their bond and enjoy their time together. For one, the team prays before games to ground themselves before the competition and connect with one another. Additionally, Timothy Cho (’25) describes how he and fellow teammate Sasha Razi (’25) partake in “some ‘alchemy’ before games [and] practices where we try different electrolytes that we bring.”
The seniors on the team are looking forward to their upcoming senior night, during which they are playing against Sacred Heart Cathedral. Cho spoke about the strong bond the team has created and how they are feeling going into their last games: “This group of seniors means a lot to me and most of us have played with each other for several years.” Come out and support this team in Alumni Gym for their future home games!
