On Thursday, April 20, the Boys’ Volleyball team held their last league game of the season in the big gym against Littlerock High School. This was a special night for nine of the players, as it was their senior night. These seniors have played a vital role in the ongoing success the team has achieved this Spring season so far. The Royals have officially won 1st place in Golden League by a mile and will continue into CIF Division 4 Playoffs. The first round of the CIF playoffs took place on April 27 (Thursday) at Quartz Hill and the Royals swept the Jordan Panthers. 

The night was filled with many emotions of joy, sadness, and pure excitement. As tough as the boys may look, many shared laughs and even tears. This game was the seniors’ last league game as high school students with just a month away from graduation. Realization hit the players hard as they were giving their final speeches. They were initially given 90 seconds to speak, but the seniors felt the need to go over the time limit to express their feelings towards the sport and the people who have always supported them. The majority of them spoke for three minutes or longer, but their fans did not mind in the slightest bit. The parents and fans cheered, laughed, and cried with the seniors as they gave their speeches. After all the laughs and tears, it was finally game time for the seniors.

The boys already took first place in the league and had secured a comfortable seed for CIF, so the boys played with nothing to lose. Right off the bat, Daren Rosas (setter) started the Royals with a serving run that got them up 7-1! The seniors had a blast playing positions they wouldn’t usually play, but they still showed impressive feats and plays. They ended up taking the first set 25-10. Heading into the second set, the team mixed up their lineup even more. Nilesh Kumar, their starting setter, finally got his wish granted to become a hitter. He did not let this opportunity slip, ending the night with eight kills and zero errors. The second set ended with a score of 25-12. Going into the third set, the boys still had an incredible amount of energy in them and did not let off the pedal. They showed no mercy to Littlerock as they finished the third set with a jaw-dropping score of 25-6.

Although the game finished, their Senior Night was not over. After the game, all the parents and fans rushed down to the court to take pictures and show their love and affection towards the nine seniors. The seniors, Taysen Ford, Nilesh Kumar, Isaac Gutierrez, Riley Wheeler, Jaden Kim, Daren Rosas, Ethan Ayala, Benjamin Hardani, and last but not least, Andrew Church, showed their appreciation back to their supporters with even more tears and laughs. With the night over, the Boys’ Volleyball Team won the first round of CIF Division 4 playoffs and it’s time to focus on winning the CIF Division 4 playoffs. This playoff run will be no joke; you do not want to miss it.