After a tumultuous 8-5 season that ended in a first-round playoff loss to B-CC last year, the boys’ volleyball team enters the 2004 season with a strong roster of ten returning players and several promising new additions. Though the team faces a tough schedule, with games against county powerhouses such as Churchill and Wootton, Coach J.J. Rathnam is confident that his players will step up to the challenge and prove their abilities on the court.

The team has been working extensively on conditioning in anticipation of this season’s lon-ger, 25-point rally score games. “I don’t want to use as many subs as last year," Rathnam said, “So the starting team needs to be stronger because they’ll have more individual time on the court than last year."

Most of the boys have also been attending Rathnam’s weekly open-gym sessions at Churchill, where they have scrimmaged players from across the county to improve their skills and teamwork.

The Blazers will be led by senior Tim Yang and juniors Paul Wong and James Lee. Rathnam is well acquainted with most his players and has a good sense of their strengths and weaknesses. “We’ve got a good blocking game and offense," he said, “better than last year’s."

While the team has also improved its defensive skills, Rathnam admits that it still suffers from inconsistent passing and digging. “We definitely need to solidify the passing," he said, explaining that the team’s offensive power means little if cannot move the ball to the setter.

The team will scrimmage at Springbrook on March 19 at 6:00 p.m. to test whether its hard work has paid off.