The varsity boys volleyball team dominated 3-0 in their last league home game of the season against Sage Hill, adding a fourth win to their streak and bumping their season record up to 6-2.
“It feels pretty good knowing that we lost some of our starters,” middle blocker junior Abhi Shrivastava said. “But this year, I think we’re better than last year because now we have a lot of new players on the court and we’ve been performing better overall.”
The game opened strong with Northwood scoring the first point. Both teams sided out for a couple of short rallies, but a series of strategic assists from the T-wolves held the Lightning at 9 points, with outside hitter senior Kai Nguyen and Shrivastava forming a tough duo to stop.
“We kept the pressure on them,” Shrivastava said. “From the serving line, we made sure to be aggressive, and then every time they got a point, we made sure to side out right away. So we just kept gaining as many points as possible and didn’t let them respond.”
The T-wolves won the first set with a landslide win of 25-18 thanks to Shrivastava’s block on the last point.
In the second set, Northwood lagged behind in the first few points before recovering in the blink of an eye. Down 2-4, opposite hitter senior Brett Huang saved the team’s third point with an intense dig tip combo.
From there, captain senior Joshua Hightower made two consecutive kills, propelling Northwood into the lead. With starting setter senior Zane Commissariat out due to a foot injury, outside hitter junior Jonathan Tan filled his position, making a vicious block and set-clinching kill during the second set.
“It’s a great feeling, and that’s what we want to do every game,” Hightower said.
In the third and final set, Northwood and Sage went head-to-head, never separated by more than two. With the score tied 22-22, Sage made another kill in a nail biting turn of events, but their lead was short lived. A perfect dime set the stage for Hightower to deliver the winning kill, and a Sage serve error sealed Northwood’s victory.
While the entire team contributed to the sweeping win, Nguyen, Shrivastava and Hightower were star players with an unmatched presence on the court. At 16 kills and no errors on 26 attempts, Hightower delivered several set-clinching points and proved to be a beast on the court.
Next year, with many key players graduating, the team is working to adapt to the changes. For now, the seniors are focused on enjoying their last games of the season and making lasting memories with their teammates.
“It was our last home game ever as seniors,” Nguyen said. “We were just trying to make the most of it and take it all in.”
The team needs two more wins and one against St. Margaret’s in order to be crowned league champions. Their next game will be away on Tuesday against Laguna Beach High School at 5:15 p.m.
“We already clinched second place, but if we want to win league, then we need to win both of our next games,” Nguyen said. “We’re doing what we usually do, just playing together and supporting each other both on and off the court.”
