Volleyball is a competitive sport where two teams try to keep a ball in the air while forcing it over to the other team. It is played everywhere, including schools. The game is adored by many people all over the world, and many find it fun and exciting. 

Here at Mt. SAC Early College Academy (MECA), we have a volleyball team of our own consisting of a coach and 18 players. The MECA volleyball team hasn’t been here for long, only being here for two years, but has grown more and more competitive as time goes by. This year’s team has many strong and energetic players of different grades. 

Instead of having a team captain leading the team, their coach, Gabriel Nichols, who is also the world history and ASB teacher, helps the team improve and finds competition for them. 

“They have a lot of talent,” says Nichols. “Our team has the skill to keep improving, which lets us grow better at volleyball. It’s a team game, so they have to work together pretty well.” 

The volleyball team is always pulling through, winning match after match they play. They played a total of three games this season and won all of them. In the most recent volleyball match on April 4th, 2025, the volleyball team managed to pull through and win a close match. 

“It was a very close game, and everyone was on fire,” said James Franco, a freshman at MECA who watched the game. “They had rallies that lasted a long time, and each team was very skillful. We came out on top, though, because we had more resolve and kept our composure together.” 

Each time they pull through, they get better, learning from mistakes and making better team decisions. However, it was a short season for the seniors as they only played three matches. This was disappointing as that was the last game of volleyball for them. 

“They’re gonna be able to stand their ground but are gonna struggle a bit,” says Xander Small, a twelfth-grade student at MECA who is part of the team. “It’s going to be tough, but if they keep practicing and dig deep, they can win, you know. Go above and beyond.”

With the seniors leaving in the future, it will be up to the freshmen and sophomores to keep the team together, working hard to practice every day and keep winning.

James Phan, a freshman who is on the volleyball team, says, “We practice every day during lunch and after school. We fool around and slowly get better at the game the more we play, building teamwork and skills over time.”