On the night of April 17, 2025, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys volleyball team battled against Laguna Blanca High School (Laguna) for their annual Senior Night. The two schools competed ferociously on the Dragons home courts of Cabrillo Middle School, going to five sets, and eventually the Dragons came out on top with a set score of 3-2.
Laguna started off the first set with serve, trying to take advantage at the start but unable to, as Foothill Tech targeted their defense, gaining a quick lead of 3-0. However, despite the lead, the teams got tied up as Laguna thrived offensively. The set score climbed to 22-21 as Elijah Haigh ‘25 got up on the net with strategic tips, and finally, after timeouts from both teams, Haigh crushed an angle hit to win the set for the Dragons 25-23.
As the second set started up, Styles Haley-Kettler ‘28 and Jack Marshall ‘25 made multiple kills, the score slipping away from Laguna’s fingertips. Multiple rallies began to commence as the score reached 5-4, but kills by Haigh and blocks from Curren Wiggins ‘26 brought the score up to 18-12.
Despite the lead, Laguna began to strategize, making multiple tips and hard hits down line to close the gap. The strength coming from Laguna’s hitters caused Foothill Tech to struggle in blocking, eventually bringing the score to 20-21. Missed serves and blocks from the Dragons brought a set loss of 23-25.
Set three brought about a new energy from the crowd as the rallies got more intense and the teams were tied up in sets, 1-1. Back-and-forth lead changes began to occur until finally, Foothill Tech took a lead of 14-11 after a kill from Tyler Nelsen ‘25. Laguna ended up calling a timeout at 15-11 to try and regain control. Technical errors like lifts and nets started to get called as the rallies intensified, however, Foothill Tech still maintained a lead, eventually making it to 24-21. A strong hit by Haigh came off Laguna’s block and out of the court, ending the set 25-21.
Haigh commented on the overall play during the season, saying, “At first, we took some getting used to chemistry, confidence, all of that, but as we got better and, you know, played together more often, we definitely bonded a lot and got better as a team.”
The fourth set started with multiple rallies and ties in score until Foothill Tech got behind 16-18. Laguna maintained this lead after acing Foothill Tech multiple times in serve-recieve and hard hits down line. Finally, Haley-Kettler made a kill to raise the score to 18-20, but despite their efforts, Laguna won the set, the end score being 21-25, after a missed serve from Foothill Tech.
The fifth and final set of the match began with Laguna serving, however, Foothill Tech easily got the first point with a kill. Sets from team captain, Jayden Wallace ‘25, resulted in strong hits down Laguna’s block at 5-4, causing a ruckus of cheering from the stands. Wallace made a strong difference on the court yet again, blocking down on Laguna’s hitters, causing a timeout from Laguna at 10-7. Haigh ran through Laguna’s blocking at 12-9, but Laguna’s defense slowly started to adjust, tying it up at 12-12. A serve from Haley-Kettler, followed by a missed hit from Laguna, ended the game 15-13 for the Dragons.
The Dragons took home the win at the end of the night, scoring 3-2 in sets. With this match, the Foothill Tech boys volleyball team qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs. Coach David Benedik commented on the season saying, “Well, it’s been an exciting season. We had a bit of a slow start, but with this one tonight, we qualified for playoffs, which was our goal at the beginning of the season. So I’m really happy with how the season is going and I’m hoping that it’s far from over.”
