J.V. Volleyball Playing with Heart
"We were small in number, but mighty in heart."
- Lance Kilpatrick
by Tori Bergland

The season continues with much poise revealed in the attitudes of the junior varsity boys volleyball players. Although, it seems like a while ago when the VC Warriors went to Saint Francis for their game on March 7, it is hard to forget the great fight Valley Christian put up in the second game. With a loss of 25-16, the first game, Valley showed much heart down to the last few points, but coming out short with a loss of 32-30. Although hope was never given up, the very next week, on March 14, the Warriors again lost to Sacred Heart with a rough match of, 25-19 and 25-15. It was entirely evident the effect of growing teamwork on the VC JV boys’ volleyball team, as they headed off to Saint Ignatius for their game on March 16. Easily the boys were able to come out with a great win: 16-25, 25-15, 15-10. On March 18, Lance Kilpatrick, the positive JV coach took 6 players to the JV Charger Classic. “[We had] just enough to play and the guys had a good time bonding and spending the day together playing volleyball and ministering to a gym full of athletes. We were small in number, but mighty in heart,” stated Kilpatrick about the day. The modest group gave many good teams a run for their money and was able to come out with a victory over Fremont, who was actually the team to end up as champions in the Warriors’ division.
March 21 brought a great match to the Valley Christian’s home gym. The first game was intense, ending with a Warrior-win of 25-23. The next two were both heartbreakers, simple losses as consequences of little mistakes. This was not able to continue for the boys, because on March 23, “we were again down a game and then ended up beating [Mitty] in the final two games,” explained Coach Kilpatrick. The team was focused on playing together in unity and was able to pull through with an outstanding victory. Bellarmine, brought much competition for the Valley Christian Warriors, on March 28, ending VC with a tough loss of: 21-25 and 18-25. While, they were still fired up and focused on winning the next match vs. St. Francis, the Warriors ended up just short of a win. Even playing at a high level, they just couldn’t pull through.
“Our team is small, but we are still growing together. Every time we play, no matter a win or loss, we finish another experience, which helps us grow closer,” explained junior Steven Yeh. With more games to come, it is exciting to see how the J.V. boys volleyball will end their tough season. Although the whole point of playing a sport may seem to win, these boys seem to “see this season as a ministry to glorify God to whoever is listening and/or watching. At the end of every game and practice the team ends with a break by yelling ‘FOR HIM!’ at the top of their lungs,” stated Coach Kilpatrick with much pride. Good luck in the next games!