In 2023, Golden Valley Boys Volleyball had their best season in school history. They went 21-8, and finished third in the Foothill League. This year they look to improve upon their record, and they’re coming for the Foothill League title.

Last year, volleyball made it to the playoffs for the first time in program history, where they lost to Troy High School in the first round. They returned a large group from last year, including seniors Abel Nieto and Peter Hall.

Nieto spoke highly about this year’s team, and has big-time goals for them, saying “I think we’re gonna win league and division five this year, and I’m confident we’ll make it to state.” After last year’s 21-8 season, they’ve started the season at 6-2.

They are focused on this year, and using last year to gauge what they need to improve. Coach Sam Hand said, “[Last year] our inability to control our first touches made things much harder than they needed to be.” Hall said, “Our communication as a whole could use some work.”

This year, Coach Hand says they’ve found more success “increasing the speed of the play on our side of the net and turning defensive touches into offensive plays. We’ve been responding to hits and tips from other teams with much more fluidity and keeping our system working.” He also stated “I think just the pure skill of all of our hitters and diversity of offensive options will take this team further than before. We can simply score from anywhere on the net and that’s going to give other teams in the league a lot of problems.”

They’re a tight-knit team, which both Nieto and Hall think will lead to them having success. “One aspect that will lead us to be a better team this year is our team bonding outside of school. I talk to these guys every day and that trust that we build outside of volleyball can be used on the court” said Hall. He also added, “The team is closer than most sports because we’re smaller in numbers and most of us have played with each other for at least three years.” Nieto said “We’re a fun team this year. We work hard, pull up, show out, and do our thing.”

Repeating and improving on the success that they had last year will be a challenge, however, this year’s boys volleyball team is up for it, and looking to improve on their record on Thursday, February 29, when they play their first league game, at home against Castaic.