Coaches: Albert Soliguen (head coach), Gersain Pineda (assistant coach), Paulo Santos (assistant coach), Monty Tucker (assistant coach)

Top Returners: Owen Filadelfia (10), Christian Lee (11), Parker Mesnik (12), Jacob Sueki (12)

Top Newcomers: Marco Gaston (11), Mason Martinez (10), Jadyn Salud (12)

Last Season: The boys volleyball team (22-10 overall / 7-1 league) ended their strong season last year by winning their fifth league championship title in a row. The Lancers lost their first round of Division 3 CIF-SS against Mission Viejo High School (7-1) with a final score of 3-0.

“Having that title of Crestview League [champions] is kind of just a tribute to the work ethic and the effort and all the good characteristics of our programs — the hustle, the grind, all of it,” Soliguen said. “It just showed that they really wanted to compete, and we belong in a competitive league.”

Outlook: Aiming for another consecutive year of earning the Crestview League championship title, Soliguen said the team is focusing more on the strategy of the offensive play and understanding more defensive positions.

“I would say the most important thing is knowing our own abilities and capitalizing on those strengths,” he said. “Being overall coachable and adjusting in the game is huge for us so that we are strong in all levels of the game.”

Specifically, co-team captain libero Sueki said the team has been trying to have the offensive front be as reliable as possible by working on blocking, serving and attacking.

“We were very up and down on our offense line with our preseason tournaments and our off-season tournaments,” Sueki said. “As we realized that and started getting to practice, we decided that we can’t have our lows stay too low too long.”

Outside hitter Lee said these practices have been helping the team increase their technical skills.

“I think doing this practice style is beneficial because it’s repetitive,” Lee said. “That way, we can keep our skills intact and keep sharpening them.” 

Soliguen said another emphasis during practices was having close relationships between the players.

“We did play a lot of tournaments in the off-season, but it was more so just establishing team chemistry and really giving a chance for players to see where they are and where we are as a team,” the coach said.

Echoing Soliguen, the co-captain said fostering a close relationship with the players had a positive effect on the team.

“Since a bunch of seniors that had a lot of experience and wisdom left, a bunch of other players had to take up their roles and really step up, which they have,” he said. “I think that really just created a much stronger team dynamic than last year, where we have a lot more accountability running through the entire team.”

Sueki said strengthening the team bond was a topic of frequent discussion between the captains this year.

“We’ve worked as hard as we can to have the team spend as much time as possible with each other and be as close as possible with each other,” he said. “Our team dynamic is probably the best I’ve ever seen in a while.”

Lee said the strong connection between his teammates helps solidify skills on the court.

“Even if we lose or win, we always have fun and talk, which helps our team bonding a lot,” he said. “It makes me feel confident when I play because I know that my teammates are by my side, and I’m close to them.”

Soliguen said the leadership, attitude and amount of effort aided the team not only in team bonding but also in gameplay.

“We do have a lot less seniors on the team and more underclassmen that are looking to prove themselves,” he said. “A lot of guys are really eager to prove that we are on the quest for our sixth consecutive League championship.”

As a player who’s been on the team since his freshman year, Lee said he hopes to be a role model for the new members of the team.

“I want to fulfill my role as a returner by setting an example for them of how we would act and how we should practice,” he said. “I also want to share close bonds with them and show that they could also be future leaders in the program.”

Middle blocker Salud said his role as both a newcomer and senior on the team motivates him to play to his best abilities.

“Joining varsity holds a lot of pressure to rise up to the situation and be good, and playing on a winning team makes me wanna do better for everything that I do,” Salud said. “As a senior on the team, I feel a lot of lower levels look up to us, so I do want to be a good role model.”

The coach said the team faced scheduling difficulties in the gym because of basketball playoffs happening at the same time, causing the team to start practicing later in the year, at the beginning of February.

“As soon as we got into the gym, it was just more so kind of learning and clarifying certain scenarios of gameplay, having a clear understanding of what jobs and responsibilities are and knowing what we can do in certain situations, making sure that everyone’s on the same page,” he said.

With a new, strong competitor in the Crestview League, Soliguen said he’s looking forward to going against Foothill High School (4-1) on the court.

“Foothill just moved into our league,” he said. “They’re a very competitive program and a really tough program, so I’m looking forward to that game.”

The boys volleyball team will start its league season at home on Thursday, March 12, at 5:45 p.m. against Canyon High School (7-1).