Caption: The Varsity Boys Volleyball Team pose with their trophy and metals after winning silver at Final Four at PASB. [by Renato Santos]
by Alec Hayashi
The Boys Volleyball Team competed at PASB (Pan American School of Bahia) on Sunday, May 25, placing second at Final Four in a gut-wrenching game against the Escola Americana de Recife (EAR) which ended after the fourth set when they lost their third set to the opposing team.
In spite of this disappointing loss, in which the volleyball team had high hopes to win first place, the PACA Warriors can still walk away from this competition with their heads held high for their overall success as a team this volleyball season. Competing at the Final Four, they were able to win second to mark a good end to the season.
Overall the boys varsity volleyball team has seen a big improvement since last season. Besides finishing in second place at Final Four, they also won second place at the Big 8 tournament in NR, and first place in the SPHSL (Sao Paulo High School League).
This year’s Final Four style tournament is also the last of its kind (since a new type of Big 8 tournament will be implemented) and it also marks the first time a PACA team has qualified to be in the final four, signaling a great achievement in PACA Sports.
Considering the small size of the PACA volleyball teams compared to the other schools in the league, it is a truly impressive feat for PACA to have won second place at Final Four.
Head Coach Leo Nogueira commented on the team’s overall progress and improvement.
“The team experienced great evolution this season,” said Nogueira, “Especially at Big 8, where we had limited personnel.” [translated from Portuguese]
Caption: The Volleyball team practicing in the back court at PACA, after school, prior to the Final Four tournament. [Photo taken by Dr. Meier]
Leading up to the tournament, the volleyball team had been practicing relentlessly, committing to an everyday after-school training routine.
Rafael Portella, a starting opposite on the team, learned the importance of focusing on the future end goal.
“We trained every day together, and kept our eyes on the future competition,” said Portella. “I think that something that really helped was looking back at recordings of our previous games, because it helped us see what aspects of the game we could improve on, as well as understanding weak points of both our team and the opponent.”
The team implemented values of discipline, teamwork, and unity as core values, and these values helped them succeed.
The second place finish was a great way to wrap up this team’s volleyball season, marking their overall improvement. It also served as a good way to say hello and goodbye to their first and last Final Four tournament.
