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Julissa Villalobos

Eager to beat the Warren High Bears, the varsity boys volleyball team gets pumped on April 26 in the Downey High gym. The Vikes played well ending the first match 22-25.

Downey’s boys varsity volleyball team competed against cross-town rival, Warren High, ending in a loss on Tuesday, April 26 at Downey’s gymnasium.

In preparation of the boys’ match, the crowd cheered and the excitement amped up the Downey Vikings. Despite their efforts, the Vikings were plagued by errors. The match started off with Downey missing the first serve, resulting in a point for Warren. These simple and consistent errors foreshadowed the rest of the game.

“In the first set, we came out with a lot of momentum,” team captain, Matthew Borlongan, said. “It carried on to the second set and on the third set fatigue broke in and we all broke down.”

These errors soon moralized the team. The Vikings let their nerves get the best of them and forced errors that should have been easy plays. After the first match ended closely, 22-25, the next two matches spiraled out of control. Warren picked up momentum from their first win and won the second match, 17-25.

“The mind set on the teammates was kind of shaken up, but it is what it is,” senior, Hinckley Ropati, said. “We’re just going to practice harder.”

The tough loss, minutes before going into the second match, weighed the Vikings down. The energy drained from the gymnasium and the home-team crowd were no longer egging the team.  There was a solemnness that spread through the bleachers, with most of the cheering coming from the Warren side.

This momentum shift with Downey’s fundamental errors in serving, allowed Warren to pick up larger leads. Despite these errors, the Vikings were never out of the game until the very end and the team almost gave up entirely when victory was out of their reach.

“I think going into to some of the hardest games of league that we have left; we are going in pretty strong,” senior, Michael Ramirez, said. “We have a good chance to make it to the playoffs, so if we just keep working hard and work together, we can make it.”
Although the Vikings experienced a tough defeat against Warren, they will be prepared to defeat their next opponent, Gahr High School on Thursday, April 26.