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Photo Credit: Kaylee Miu
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April 1, 2010
Bach Phan
The boys volleyball team experienced a winning streak to start off their new season as they defeated several schools such as San Ramon Valley, Galileo, Moreau Catholic, Lowell and several other schools. But their early win streak came to an end in a four match game against Foothill, the 2009 reigning NCS champion.
“We have a lot of expereince now. Most of the team played club during the off season. We are all pretty close and communicate well with one another on the court,” junior Justin Woo said.
The Huskies will get another chance to face Foothill at the Foothill Tournament, May 8.
“We’re getting closer to beating Foothill every time we play them,” senior co-captain Darren Tan said.
The team has an advantage this year, after losing only two seniors from last years varsity squad, Jarod Fluke and Jefferey Teller. Many other teams, such as Mission San Jose lost many of their seniors and are forced to rebuild a new competitive team. Despite their early success, the Huskies still believe that they have a lot to learn.
“We need to work on a lot of fundamentals and not losing confidence after one mistake,” junior Manmeet Singh said.
The team is lead by senior co-captains Darren Tan and Cedric Lousi. Tan plays libero while Lousi is an outside hitter.
“[The captains] inspired me to enhance my abilities and to help others who need help,” junior John Im said.
Tan is playing in his second year as the varsity libero. He leads the team in many of their motivational cheers in between points.
“In the beginning of every game, Darren yells ‘bring out the war cry,’ the team claps twice and yells “Damate” in response, meaning kill in Tongan,” senior Luke Gronert said. Lousi, a Tonga native uses many of his cultural roots in the team’s new cheers.
To keep motivation and momentum high on the courts, the boys yell “Opa!” when ever the opposing team messes up. “Opa’”is a Greek exclamation of joy meaning celebration or party.
Washingotn is currently ranked eighth in the North Coast Sections (NCS), and were ranked as high as six this season.
The team has high expectations for themselves. They look forward to going against league rivals James Logan and Mission San Jose because while ranked high in NCS, the Huskies are still ranked behind these two schools in league. The boys will face James Logan away at Logan, April 15.
