Malden High’s Boys Volleyball team on the court. Photo by Idriss Touati.
The boys volleyball team is rounding off to the end of their season with the total score of 11-9, throughout the season there were nine wins within the nineteen games that the team has had.
The team has steadily improved and practiced over the course of the season. They originally had started the season off with a few worries, according to senior captain Ryoma Yonetani near the beginning of the season he was worried about the games against Randolph High school due to the the mentality of the team after “losing to them last year”. Along with the team’s majority this year being new players, there was a constant strive for better chemistry. Despite these setbacks, the team was motivated throughout the season for states.
The team had their first game against Billerica Memorial and had lost with the score of three to zero, within the game there were three sets. The next game they had was against Greater Lawrence which also ended up as a losing game but were only short by a few points ending the game with also all sets won by the other team.
Despite the short losing streak that the team had at the beginning of the season, there were able to win the following games. They won in a non-conference meet, with a finishing score of three to zero in the sets. Another win game soon after against Salem, where there were a total of four sets and Malden won three sets while Salem had won one. The team had also won against Lowell Catholic, where the Malden Boys volleyball team was able to take home a win, after winning three out of five of the sets. Within the middle of the season, the score was played to be three wins and three losses.
Yonetani mentions that throughout their current season, they “practiced every day” and they had tried different strategies for the team to work through their comfortability in communications and skills. Adding on to this, junior Tenzin Shakya mentions that “by the end of the season [they] were able to pull through and fix those issues”
Following the game against Lowell Catholic was the game against Essex Tech which the team had lost all three sets. They were able to win against Presentation of Mary Academy winning all the sets. Near the end of the season, the team went against Randolph High School and had lost.
Shakya also mentions that a shoutout that he would give would be to Ryoma Yonetani, who contributed to the team’s wins and “changed the environment of the team, spreading creativity and excitement.”
Although this season had many ups and downs, the team was able to gain many win and improve for further seasons.
