Boys’ volleyball now 8-6 in league

April 29, 2019 — by Karen Chow and Alex Wang
vball

They celebrated their seniors and their last home game together.

Yelling across the court, junior setter Mohan Duvvuri maneuvered through his teammates as he tried to set up a play during a tough match against Monta Vista on April 24. He dove for the ball and back-set perfectly to senior outside Derek Chiou, who smashed the ball down for a point.

Though the Falcons had trouble passing in the first game, the boys were able to pick it up in the second game, winning 25-22. Despite junior setter Mohan Duvvuri’s quick sets and Khan’s strong blocks, the Falcon’s lost the overall match 3-1.

Before the game, the Falcons honored their four seniors: opposite Joshua Lee, outsides Derek Chiou and Usman Khan and middle Dhruv Chakraborty.

“Although we lost, I’m really glad we were able to get one set one them,” Chiou said. “On top of that, the team made the game great with their touching speeches and the fun theme of Taco Bell.”

Most recently, the Falcons beat Los Altos 3-1 on April 26. The win was expected as Los Altos currently sits last in the De Anza League with a league record of 2-12. The Falcons won the first set 25-17, lost the second 25-16, and then held the Eagles off for two more sets, 25-15 and 27-25.

Leading into their senior night, the team faced Harker on April 19. The Falcons played without Chiou, the team captain,  who was at the robotics World Championship in Houston. Without their usual firepower, they lost 3-0.

On April 17, the team beat Los Gatos 3-1. The Falcons quickly gained momentum in the first set winning 25-17. The team lost the second set 25-17 due to miscommunication between offense and defense. The boys quickly regained their rhythm with Chiou’s leadership and junior Cameron Chow’s consistent passes winning the next two sets 25-18 and 25-22.

On April 3, the Falcons faced Cupertino and won 3-1. The game was led by junior middle Aditya Reddy with his consistent serving, above 40 percent hitting average, and strong blocks.

On March 29, the team beat Homestead 3-0. The win was keyed by Lee’s strong kills and great coverage on the back court.

“This game really showed how much our team’s chemistry has improved throughout this season,” Lee said. “Last time, we lost 3-2, but this time we won 3-0 which really shows our improvement.”

As for the outlook for the rest of the season, Chiou said that the team is still looking to qualify for CCS, which begins on May 7. To qualify, they need to win their last two games.

To prepare for leagues and CCS, the team is trying out two lineups to see which is better as their primary lineup. One of the lineups is stronger in offense while the other favors defense, Chiou said. In practice, they are running more defensive drills because that’s where they are most lacking.

Chiou said the team is in position to place third in the De Anza League.

“Surprisingly though, we're winning fewer games than we did last year, but we’re still in third,” Chiou said. “For CCS we're not quite sure how the competition is looking because it always seems to be a crapshoot.”

Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon could not cover the away game against Mountain View on May 1.

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