The Falcons finished first in the lower El Camino division this spring with a record of 12-3, qualifying for Division II CCS. At CCS, The Falcons beat Summit Shasta 3-0 on May 6 but lost 3-0 to Aragon in the quarterfinals on May 7.
While the sets were as close as 28-26, the Falcons could not hold off against the barrage of strong hits by Aragon’s Cameron Sears, who delivered 21 kills.
“We hung with them throughout the entire game but we just couldn’t handle their speed and precision during every set,” senior libero Sam Kau said. “With some point swings, we were getting into our own heads, which caused us to make mistakes on the little things we have been working on throughout the year, like covering tips and blockers.”
Despite falling short in CCS, Kau described the season as a success.
“I think the positives outweigh the negatives this season, as we won league for the first time in 9 years,” Kau said. “Besides wins, I think our underclassmen improved a lot and our team connection became closer.”
The five seniors that graduate this year are Kau, setter Kali Duvvuri, outside hitter Eric Norris, middle blocker Scotty Rich, and opposite hitter Edmond Hsu.
Freshman middle blocker Ahmed Abdalla greatly appreciates the seniors for the help and advice they passed to the underclassmen.
“The seniors significantly helped [the team] work on our skills and teamwork. They’ve put us in a good position to succeed in the league next year,” Abdalla said.
The final awards for the league came out May 17 — Duvvuri won Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the All-League first team, outside Eric Norris also won All-League first team, sophomore outside Jeremy Si and freshman Abdalla won All-League second team and Kau won All-League honorable mention.
“I am very happy to be honored as first-team all-league but what I think is more important is the skill of leadership I gained this year,” Norris said. “Being able to help the underclassmen get a feel for the overall game and get used to the varsity level of competitiveness within our league was an invaluable experience.”
