On May 5, SRV’s Men’s Varsity Volleyball team defeated crosstown rival, Monte Vista, to catapult themselves into the NCS playoffs.

SRVHS started slow and lost the first set 25-20, but finished with a bang, and won the next three in commanding fashion, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19.

SRVHS’ potent offense was on full display as the team combined for 60 kills. 19 of them from junior outside hitter Jack Sprague, 16 from Ben Weinberg, and 11 from junior middle hitter Brendan Allio. Team Setter, senior Matt Jungclas assisted on 53 of the 60 kills from tonight’s game, bringing his typical  masterful effort.

The team will enter the playoffs with full momentum, due to the return of starting sophomore outside hitter Ben Weinberg, who has missed the entire season due to injury. Weinberg’s, along with other fantastic individual efforts were why SRVHS was able to achieve it’s goal of qualifying for NCS playoffs.

Weinberg emphasized the impact of the team’s unity, and their formidable strength as a whole, “[Me] playing in this game made little impact compared to the energy and cohesiveness of our team. [The team] understood the situation, stepped up to the challenge, and led us to victory” said Ben Weinberg.

Monte Vista split the season series with SRVHS, as they won the first matchup between these teams. However, Monte Vista’s season ended on Thursday after they failed to qualify for the NCS playoffs.

SRVHS’ season has been anything but smooth, as they have featured numerous combinations of starting lineups game in and out. However, with the starters healthy and hungry, Head Coach Bryan Miller hopes his team will finally find their rhythm as they head into playoffs.

“Throughout this season, our goal was to get into the NCS tournament and compete at a high level,” said Coach Miller. “After many ups and downs throughout the season, we are able to do that because of the veteran leadership and new players who were able to step up when needed throughout this season. Our team is very eager to make a statement in the NCS playoffs after a great match against MV.”

Due to the victory against Monte Vista, the team earned a spot in the NCS tournament, matching up against Mission San Jose in the first round.