Boys’ Volleyball Look to Repeat as League Champs
Aayan Lakhani / Contributor
Leo Raiher (’26) jumps to spike the ball down the court and lead them to win the set.
Samo Boys’ Volleyball looks to build off a strong ’24-’25 season where the team went a perfect 7-0 in the Ocean league and 22-9 overall. The team carried this momentum into the CIF division III playoffs. Samo won the first two rounds against Camerillo and University high school displaying great overall team performances. In the quarter final of CIF playoffs, the team ultimately lost to Warren High School in a tight game that went to four sets.
The team started the season off strong with a victory against St. Monica high school. Samo lost the first set, but came back strong to win the next three to win this tightly contested game. Sean Saunders (’27), the starting outside hitter on varsity gave his thoughts on this game.
“One big strength in this game was our blocking, and our whole front line is really strong. Our offensive strength really showed in this game. Saunders said. “We lost the first set, because we were not playing out best, but we woke up and it was smooth sailing from there.”
Samo is led by head coach Pete Barraza, who is starting his third season of coaching the varsity team. Samo played in a tournament on Feb. 20, going 1-4 against various top teams.
“So far, they have shown resilience. In a tournament in Redondo, there were moments where we showed that we will be hard to beat. We played against two top teams Mira Costa and Corona Del Mar and put on a tough performance.” Barraza said.
The team’s record is now 2-5 after the first week of the season. The team looks to build on a strong foundation from the opening weeks of this season.
“I think this group can make another good run right now. It was a long season. We are just focusing on the little things, improving from game to game, practice to practice, so that when we are in the CIF playoffs, we’ve resolved some of those things and can go far in the tournament.” Barraza said.
The team’s next home game is set to resume on Mar. 3 against Torrance.