On April 15, 2025, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys volleyball team faced off against Providence High School (Providence) to gain a 3-0 sweep on their record. Foothill Tech began the night strong at Cabrillo Middle School (Cabrillo) gymnasium from the start time at 5:30 p.m. and never settled until every set was over.
The first set of the game started slowly for the Dragons as they battled against Providence for each point. Beginning the set, Providence kept the Dragons on their toes on defense, continuing to keep the score close. Curren Wiggins ’26 came up to the service line with his team at an eight-point run, he led the Dragons with five consecutive serves.
Elijah Haigh ’25 empowered the Dragons by keeping their offense strong as he dominated in kills. The Dragons flew through the end of this set with Styles Haley-Kettler ’28 starting a streak at the service line. He nearly ended the game on the line for the Dragons, but instead led them to 23 points. Foothill Tech ended the set shortly after and won the first set 25-15.
Head Coach David Benedik spoke on how the team was able to gain such momentum in a slow-paced game and stated, “We were able to find some good offense power, and I think that’s what got us going in that first set … once we started taking some big swings and and getting kills we got excitement going.”
Similarly to the first set, Foothill Tech held a majority of the serves during the second set as they were able to gain serve back extremely quickly after losing it. By the end, Haigh on the line, he led the Dragons from 19 points to 21 before Providence took a shot and won a point back. The next point, the Dragons came back quickly to win the set 25-13.
Foothill Tech’s setter, Jayden Wallace ’25, reflected on his personal feelings about his performance on the court, “When we are up by a lot it’s hard to keep playing disciplined and with your full effort … but when they have smaller and less experienced blockers against me I feel like I have a lot more options available to me offensively.”
Although the Dragons won the first two sets with ease, Providence did not go down without a fight. The teams exchanged points back and forth until Providence executed a kill to tie the set 12-12. Providence took a two-point lead until Foothill Tech continued to exchange points with them. At a 16-16 tie, Haigh used his power on offense to put his team in the lead. This lead did not last long as Providence shortly took back their lead and gained three-point lead over the Dragons. Wallace soon after went on the service line and served an ace to gain a one-point lead. After two timeouts by Providence, the set was ended by an illegal lift, which left the score of the set a close 25-23 and Foothill Tech a 3-0 sweep in sets.
The Dragons hope to carry their momentum on to their next game, where they will face Laguna Blanca School (Laguna Blanca) on April 17, at Cabrillo.
