Coaches: Albert Soliguen (head coach), Victoria Guillory (assistant coach)
Top Returners: Matthew Barta (12), Augustine Cho (12), Seth Lee (12), Parker Mesnik (11), Lucas Saab (12), Jacob Sueki (11)
Top Newcomer: Owen Filadelfia (9)
Last Season: The boys volleyball team ended with a 24-8 record, 9-1 in the Freeway League. The Lancers came away with the league title – its fourth straight – but lost in the second round of CIF Division 3 playoffs to El Dorado High School.
Outlook: With CIF-Southern Section’s decision to create new conferences and leagues for the 2024-2025 school year, the Lancers find themselves in the Century Conference’s Crestview League. They will now face four instead of five schools: Canyon in Anaheim (15-9 last season), Yorba Linda (13-7 last season), Cypress (19-5 last season) and El Dorado in Placentia (29-6 last season).
Like the Lancers, Cypress and El Dorado got placed in Crestview as league champions last season. Also, each of the opponents has had a boys volleyball program for 15 or more years, compared with the Freeway League, which approved the sport in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District in 2020.
Nevertheless, the head coach said the team’s goal remains the same as previous years: to dominate the competition and win a league title.
“It’s basically stepping into a gauntlet of experienced programs,” said Soliguen, who has yet to select any captains as of Friday, Feb. 14. “There is some pressure that comes with being a newer program and with the guys wanting to prove themselves.”
Many of the returners agreed with their coach as they don’t foresee the Lancers’ younger program as a disadvantage.
“It’s definitely going to be more competitive, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun as we go against new teams,” said opposite hitter Saab, who is in his third year on the varsity squad. “Although we have to travel in a wider area, I think it would be good for our team, and hopefully, we can make a strong first impression against the new opponents.”
Like Saab, libero Sueki also has the same years of experience playing for the Lancers at this level.
“I think we should try to keep everything consistent during our game and stay mentally sharp before matches with meditation and warmups,” Sueki said. “I’m stoked for the new league since we’re going against new opponents, and I’m aiming to be undefeated by improving our skills through more team practices.”
Soliguen said inconsistent gameplay remains the Lancers’ biggest challenge, making it their key focus for improvement.
“I want them to be able to play strong consistently from start to finish because right now, it’s like a rollercoaster,” he said. “I think it’s mostly because we haven’t had many practices and are still getting comfortable playing with each other.”
Players also recognize that instability holds them back from their full potential as a team.
“We often have inconsistent energy, so we need to focus on maintaining steady energy from start to finish in each game,” middle blocker Barta said. “I believe the best way to address this issue is by trusting and relying on one another, especially when we are struggling during games.”
In the off-season, the team competed against 59 teams from across California in the Garden Grove Winter Spike Off held at Rancho Alamitos High School on Saturday, Jan. 18. The head coach said he did not have any stats to share from that tournament.
“The Spike Off was definitely good for our team chemistry as it helped us shake the rust off as the Garden Grove tournament was kind of the first time we played together against other teams,” Saab said. “As we played in that tournament, it helped us build that trust together as we lost some of that as seniors graduated last year.”
Additionally, the Lancers competed in two beach volleyball tournaments during the offseason. The first, the Inland Boys Beach Volleyball League, took place from August to September at Azusa Pacific University in the San Gabriel Valley, Fullerton College, Downey High School and Warren High School in Downey.
The second, the City Boys Beach Volleyball League, ran from September to November at Long Beach Community College. Soliguen again did not have information on how the teams fared.
“It was good competition and really high intensity, which I think helped our team connect on a more personal level,” setter Lee said. “As we move into the new season, I think we might not have that indoor connection, but we still have a close-knit, family-type, friendship that we can translate into our bond.”
Although Soliguen is unsure how the team will measure up in the new league, he remains optimistic.
“We will have a great performance this season since our biggest strengths revolve around our passing, defense, and serves,” he said. “It’s hard to say how we’ll place against the other teams because we’ve never played them before.”
The Lancers (3-2 in non-league play) will play their first league match against El Dorado at Placentia on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m.
