Typically, boys’ volleyball isn’t the most popular sport in central Ohio. Whether it’s because of the specific equipment needed for the sport, the surplus of other options or the stereotypes surrounding the sport, the game simply doesn’t have the interest that other spring sports like soccer, baseball, tennis or lacrosse generate.
The Hayes boys’ volleyball team wants to battle unpopularity and more. The team has seen steady improvement and attracted some new faces.
“Our goals were to have a season where we could all learn from each other and get better at volleyball,” senior Will Bardon said.
The team went 8-13, the program’s best record in over a decade.
“I think we got way better as a team and just became better teammates in general,” Bardon said.
Bardon was a newcomer to the sport, and joined his twin brother Grant on the team for their final year
“It was a very educational experience being my first year and they taught me a lot,” Bardon said. “It was a very fun year.”
Despite the team’s jump in the win category, sophomore Jack Lenocker would like to see further improvement.
“We struggled on the mental aspect of the sport throughout the season,” Lenocker said. “We had the talent to succeed, but failed in motivation.”
While Lenocker wanted a better mindset from the team, he was pleased with how players stepped up.
“This year we had 2 other [than me] club players on the team,” Lenocker said. “So I was hoping for a better record. Besides them, we have great players who played amazing this year.”
One of the other club players, junior David Cauley, agrees with Lenocker’s mixed feelings on the season.
“I feel like we fell short of our goals but we made a huge step in the right direction for next year and the program in general,” Cauley said. “The team dynamic was shaky with all the different levels of experience and expectations we had, but we tried our best to work around these.”
The Pacers finished 5-8 in the OCC Central, and want to continue the growth the program has made over the last 4 years both in participation and results.
“My advice is to try volleyball even if you think it’s weird,” Bardon said. “It’s actually super fun and the program needs more people.”