William Yu and Adam El Fatihi also contributed to this article.
On Thursday, May 28, the Malden High School’s Boys’ Volleyball team qualified into the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 1 tournament. The prestigious tournament consists of the 43 top teams in the state. With Malden finishing with a solid record of 14 wins and 6 losses, the boys shifted their focus on preparing before the tournament.
After finding out they were placed against St. Johns, the team went to their gymnasium to thoughtfully prepare before the tournament, focused and committed.
Once the day of the game arrived, by 5 PM after school, the Boys’ volleyball team went to the CVS side of Malden High and began the ride to Saint John’s High School.
They planned on arriving focused, and set the tone quickly. As the team arrived at the high school, they set down their gear and began warming up thoroughly after a long bus ride.
Starting the game off, senior libero Lynkolln Silva started the game with a clean serve, but the ball was thwarted and the Pioneers were able to capture the first point of the game. With notable plays like senior captain Ethan Nguyen performing setter dumps and senior Israel DeSouza and Silva commanding the team throughout the game and in serve receives, Malden was able to keep up.
Towards the end of the first set, Malden was down by 2, having 18 points, while the Pioneers were at 20 points. However Malden was able to only add a point while the Pioneers scored 5 more, ending the first set at 25-19.
Although down, Malden was still focused. As the second set began, the Tornados huddled up and devised a plan to win the second set of the game.
Starting the second set of the game, the Pioneers started the set with a serve that landed Pioneers the first point of the second set. When both teams were up and at it, hitting and blocking the volleyball, the Pioneers took the lead, scoring 19 points, compared to Malden’s 9 points. However service aces from junior Joan Diaz Vargos and Hikaru Tao and senior Grey Chen changed the score to 20-17. The Pioneers closed the set out with their blocks, ending it at 25-20.
Leading up to the third and last set, the Golden Tornados still stood strong, with Desouza beginning the first serve of the third set. As the volleyball rallied back and forth, Silva anchored the back row, diving for spikes made by St. John’s.
In a last ditch effort, Malden was able to send over the ball to the Pioneers side twice but ultimately lost the point. Although Malden played to their maximum effort, the Pioneers were able to close the set with a score of 25-19, concluding the game with a 3-0 loss.
When the game concluded, the Tornados and Pioneers both lined up by the net to high-five each other, showing good sportsmanship. Despite the unfortunate loss, the boys’ volleyball team has been prominent with their season, ending it with a record of 14-6, and placing in the top 43 teams. “I hope that next year we can make it further into states, and try to replace our crucial seniors,” sophomore James Li added.
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