Boys’ volleyball was defeated in straight sets by the Northwest Jaguars in the opening round of the MCPS playoffs on Thursday, May 2. The loss marked the end of the team’s 2024 season as they finished with a record of 7-5.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 5-1 start before losing four of their final six games on the season as the back half of their schedule proved to be tougher than the front half. Northwest, a team they had beaten in a preseason scrimmage, entered the game having won six of their previous seven games. The preseason win against the Jaguars caused them to downplay the game which ended up being much tougher than expected.

“I feel we came up short against Northwest because we had a poor start and our energy wavered at times causing some careless mistakes, but [on] the other hand we still fought hard and were resilient,” senior Peter Hristov said.

The previous two seasons, the Wildcats had been county finalists, but two of the team’s graduates from the class of 2023 (Joe Morris and Sebastiano Sani) were Division I commits, so losing them was a big blow to the team. This year’s seniors tried to continue the team’s legacy of winning seasons and bringing the team together.

“One thing that volleyball has taught me a lot about, especially in my senior season, is leadership. Being a captain, it was always a greater responsibility to make sure that I was there for my teammates and would bring energy to the team whenever it was needed. This season was super important for my growth as a leader,” senior captain Evan Geiss said.

The team is relatively young with just over 75% of the team set to return next year.

“Now that I’ll be a junior, [I’ll] need to set the example for younger people on the team next year,” sophomore David Rodgriguez said.