Boys’ volleyball: Team regroups for next year

The 2011 season proved to be a tough season for the boys’ volleyball team and is a wake-up call for the team to be better prepared for the next season.

The team finished 3-24 overall (0-12 in the De Anza league). Injuries to key players and a lack of consistency during games resulted in a disappointing season.

With so few victories, players took consolation in their effort.

“Though we didn’t have a very good record, I thought each player improved tremendously,” outside hitter junior James Huang said. “We had fun and tried our hardest, so even if we win or lose, we feel like we gave it our best effort.”

During their games, players found themselves losing with poor passes to set up plays.

“Improvements we needed included getting our passes to the net,” Huang said. “Sometimes we just didn’t have very good passing, thus leading to a worse set, which causes a weaker hit.”

The team must compete next season without senior middle Garrett Huening and senior outside hitter Brandon Pierce, who were both vital to the team’s net play.

“The main position we will need to fill is our middle,” Huang said. “[Huening] played middle for us every game and was one of the best players in the league.”

Huening has been an integral player on varsity since his sophomore year, producing 78 kills and 34 blocks this season. Though disappointed by the team’s performance this year, he feels that he has stepped up his game.

“Honestly, I wish we had won more matches,” Huening said. “But I was able to really work on my skills and I was able to develop my game a lot more in this season.”

Huening will be attending Santa Clara University in the fall and hopes to continue his volleyball career there.

To fill the roles vacated by Huening and Pierce, current underclassmen will need to step up next season. With help from setter and hitter Brandon Pak, outsProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

e hitter Huang, middle Salmaan Javed and setter Paras Unadkat, the team will be ready to start fresh.

“I think overall everyone improved in their skills and will do well for next season,” Huening said.