Head Coach: Lori Gragnola

Last year’s record: 0-14

Recap: Suffering injuries and missing key players like Class of ‘22 alumnus Andy Tran as well as current juniors Eric Norris and Kali Duvvuri, the 2022 team ended winless.

Key Matchups: Los Gatos and Los Altos

Star Players: Senior libero Nathan Lim, junior setter Kali Duvvuri and junior opposite hitter Eric Norris

Key losses to graduation: Outside hitter Andy Tran 

League: El Camino

Prognosis:

Following a winless season in 2022, the Falcons look forward to a better 2023 season with all their players healthy to start the season.

Junior setter Kali Duvvuri, the team’s primary star player, missed the majority of last season and believes the team will have better outcomes with his play this year.

“This year we dropped down to the lower El Camino league, so we will have an easier time than last year, especially now that we have better players,” Duvvuri said.

Duvvuri said that strong freshmen coming in will provide a boost for the team, allowing head coach Lori Gragnola to formulate more game plans and strategies which have players rely on each other’s strengths. Specifically, he believes freshman Brennan Pak and Jeremy Si will be major contributors.

Players like junior setter Sam Kau said that, despite the league drop, the team’s mentality needs to improve.

“We need to go into games with more confidence and trust in ourselves and our teammates,” he said. “We need to work together and encourage each other to be the best versions of ourselves so that we are stronger collectively.”

Kau said that a majority of the losses last season were self-inflicted — opposing teams were not necessarily better, but their lack of chemistry left them struggling to compete. Regardless, Kau is hopeful that these issues will be fixed come the end of the season.

“I’m very excited for the new season to start,” Kau said. “I can’t wait to see the progress that players have made since last season, as well as the new blood we’re going to get.”