For the first time in school history, the boys volleyball team completed its first season. Created by senior Nolan Bartley and volleyball coach Madeline Odom, the team placed fourth in the district and later made it to playoffs, ultimately losing in the first round to an undefeated Klein Collins High School team. The overall record for the season was 4-6.

“The season was definitely a learning curve but it was a fun time,” Bartley said. “The team was a lot of fun to be around and we’re all excited to participate in Volleybros now. We lost the first round of playoffs but it was still such a great experience.”

The team’s favorite school to play was Kingwood Park High School. The district game against them was an eventful game with five sets and ended with a win.

“Our team knows the other team, so it was a fun and competitive game,” senior Garrett Snell said. “We lost pretty bad the first game against them but we came back and won in districts. It was impressive for us and showed how much we’d grown over the season.”

The team believes they improved throughout the season, especially given it was their first season.

“The losses showed us that we’re a new team and we have a lot to learn,” Bartley said. “We need to improve on certain things and we need to do our best each game. If we’re not going to have the best offense, then we need to have the best defense, or vice versa.”

The team consists of mostly seniors, but Odom and the boys hope it can continue on with the underclassmen.

“With this season going pretty good, the program at our school and others in the district can do good in the future,” senior Jahi Ricks said. “I hope it continues past this year and doesn’t stop after we all leave.”

The boys on this team came from many other sports teams at the school, so they had to learn everything that has to do with the sport of volleyball. They practiced and worked together from January to April, so many friendships and lessons came from their first season.

“We learned not to get frustrated with each other and to just persevere through our losses,” senior Beaux Parrish said. “A lot of learning and team bonding came from this experience. We have a groupchat, so after every loss, everybody would give words of encouragement so we don’t dwell on them.”

When reflecting on their season, Odom believed there was a learning curve for her to go from coaching varsity girls volleyball to coaching boys who play other sports as well.

“I think they got so much better from the beginning,” Odom said. “ It was challenging having to teach some of the basics at first, but they later on became more confident as players and knew their rotations and lineups. It was cool for me to see the way they improved from the beginning of the season.”

Bartley, the team captain, wants the team to grow just as much as everyone else and has hope for the future teams. 

“I’m just glad the team and program will carry on after this,” Bartley said. “I’m grateful to coach Odom for letting me have this experience.”