A new addition to Vanden High School is the boys’ volleyball team. The leaders on the team are Devin Muchinson, number 16, and Noah Yi, number 10. Yi is the younger brother of Bella Yi, a girls’ volleyball player at Vanden. Yi has been playing for 5 years and he learned how to play through his sister. Noah is thankful for volleyball and explains why by saying that without it, he would live a boring and lazy life. Muchinson on the other hand says, “Without volleyball, I’d be pretty fine.” 

The boys’ volleyball team is considered a spring sport. They play other schools in our league, just like any other sport. That includes schools in Vacaville Unified School District and other high schools in Fairfield. A few of Vanden’s male students went to Mr. Bidou, the athletic director, and expressed their wants for a boys’ volleyball team. No one has ever made this request before and had the amount of people necessary to provide a full team. The team has grown last year, and still flourishes in popularity this year. 

Muchinson started playing volleyball last year, the first season for Vanden boys. In middle school his friends encouraged him to join the team and said he would be a good fit. Muchinson said that he would play if there was ever a high school team, not expecting there to be one. When Vanden announced the boys’ volleyball team, Muchinson’s friends held him to his word, and he is now a part of the team. He is a leader on the team because Muchinson is naturally gifted at volleyball. Everything makes sense to him on the court and he states that it is easy to learn.  

According to Muchinson, the most important qualities to a boys’ volleyball player is to be sportsmanlike and stay positive because it affects everyone else’s attitude if one player is toxic. Noah adds in by saying “I think the important qualities are aggression and being outgoing.” 

Noah is the libero of the team, just like his sister, and says that it is his favorite position because he likes being on the ground and it makes him feel more connected to his teammates. The libero is the player who wears a contrasting color jersey and always plays defense. Devin says the middle position is the best for him because he is tall and good at blocking and hitting. 

To any future boys thinking of trying out for the volleyball team, Devin says, “You should just go for it because it’s fun and easy to learn.” Both boys agree that this upcoming season is going to be different since they have a lot of new players. Without being cocky, Noah feels confident about the upcoming season. Devin uses a more subtle description of “okay” to express his feelings. No one knows what this season will bring, but the boys’ have some great leaders on their team.