Seven seniors were celebrated at Northwood varsity boys volleyball’s Senior Night on April 21, each taking the court in a hard-fought 3-1 loss against Laguna Beach High School.

Although the result was disappointing, the match was intense throughout, with the team forcing Laguna to fight for every single point.

The game kicked off with a narrow lead for Laguna; the T-wolves never trailed by more than five points. Halfway through the first set, senior outside hitter Aadhi Balakrishnan helped Northwood close the gap to just 13-12 with an impressive hat trick, scoring three consecutive kills. After a series of intense rallies and points, the T-wolves eventually lost the set 25-20.

The second set followed a similar script, as Northwood held its own for the first half before the momentum shifted and Laguna took the lead.

However, despite losing the first two sets, resilience from the team and coaches helped maintain Northwood’s tenacity.

“I think the biggest thing is reiterating a positive mindset to help them get out of those ruts and out of those bunks,” boys volleyball head coach Adam Bernstein said. “It has to be understanding that volleyball is a sport where the next point can matter and as long as you’re looking forward to that and not dwelling on what happened then you give yourselves that opportunity.”

After a series of masterful blocks and spikes by senior middle blocker Abhi Shrivastava and senior opposite hitter Nate Meyers—coupled with clean sets by senior setter Jonathan Tan—Northwood convincingly won the third set 25-19.

Laguna jumped out to a 22-14 lead in the fourth set, but the T-wolves clawed their way back, scoring seven consecutive points. After a fast-paced back-and-forth between the two teams, the game ended up tied 24-24 before Laguna escaped with the win.

Although they ended with a loss, the rally in the final set underscored what this team is capable of when it commits, and the players already have their sights set on their next match.

“The biggest thing is making sure you have the energy,” defensive specialist senior Danuj Kunaseelan said. “As much as it feels terrible to lose like this, we have to move on and just push through tomorrow because it’s literally make or break.”

Northwood volleyball beat University High School 3-1 the following day to qualify for the upcoming CIF tournament.