The Fillmore High School Men’s Volleyball season is underway! The Flashes, led by team captains Nathan Zavala and Jorge Ruiz, travelled to Oxnard to challenge the Pacifica Tritons on Tuesday, February 28th. The boys spread 60 points over three matches, but were unable to come away with a win. Cameron Reilley powered the offense with some fantastic kills thanks to the excellent setting ability of junior Micah Chumley. The JV squad looked to be in mid-season form as they took two of three matches – and the win – to start their season. Standouts for the JV squad include hard-hitting Eddie Vergara with four spikes and consistently solid serves from co-captain Jordan “Turbo” Carillo.

On Wednesday, February 29th, Pacifica paid the Flashes a visit in return, and promptly beat the Varsity Flashes in three straight matches. The boys played extremely well, but were unable to block some powerful spikes from one of the talented Tritons. Saul “Twitch” Lopez looked good hitting and blocking for the Flashes, and James Farr showed some hustle getting to some difficult balls. The Pacifica JV team returned the favor to our JV boys, beating them by the same score the Flashes hung up on them. It was an extremely exciting finish, but the JV Flashes dropped the third and deciding match, 15-13.

Our third match of the week pitted our beloved Flashes against the hard-hitting boys from Channel Islands High. Our varsity squad entered the game filled with confidence. Why shouldn’t they? Even though they were 0-2 coming into the game, the varsity Flashes looked very polished and focused. Unfortunately, that confidence vanished after a few unforced errors pushed the boys into an unexpected loss, 25-17 in the first match. The boys rallied gamely, but were unable to muster much more over the following two matches, and dropped to 0-3 on the season. The junior varsity boys kicked it back into gear, providing a spark for Fillmore that promises for a very fun season. Blaine Aviles shined bright for our squad, getting a few kills and showing off a deceptively strong serve.

The Fillmore Flashes Men’s Volleyball squad hits the road the week of March 5-9, bringing some tough competition to Carpinteria on Tuesday and Oaks Christian on Thursday. Your next opportunity to come cheer for our boys will be March 13th when Bishop Diego pays us a visit, and March 15th as Nordhoff tests our mettle. The boys would love to have a throng of cheering fans behind them as they faced these teams, so come to the gym! JV games start at 5pm with varsity to follow. Let’s go Fillmore! Let’s go Flashes!