Highlanders showing improvement
The Piedmont High School boys volleyball team returned from spring break on April 14, falling to Urban-San Francisco in a nonleague match at Binks Gymnasium, 25-12, 25-16, 25-8.
The Highlanders fell to 5-13 on the year but as they head into the final month of the season, they believe they have seen massive improvement on last year’s 1-23 season.
“I feel like we have improved a lot,” Lukas Kim said. “A lot of different people are able to step into different roles. It has been good having that flexibility. For a team that is mostly freshmen, you aren’t usually going to have that.”
Said senior captain Luck Peterson, “It all comes down to the energy we have in practices. In games, that gets carried forward. Because we’re able to build on the momentum from practices and because we’ve established this camaraderie in practice, then it’s easier for us to keep that in a high pressure situation like a game.”
Peterson and Drew Kobal are the only seniors on the roster. The majority are freshmen, meaning the future should be bright for the program.
Robby Koch chases after a ball to dig it. Coach Mike Glass said Koch has been very versatile for the Highlanders. 
Sam Town serves the ball during a match against Urban on April 14. The Highlanders are 5-13 on the season after winning just one match a year ago. 
(L-R) Lukas Kim (4), Nate Spong, Julian Smithers (1) and Jai Ramakrishnan (13) watch Luck Peterson (8) attempt a kill during a match against Urban. 
Robby Koch watches his set 
Nate Spong gets off a high set
“I think a lot of it comes from our new coach (Mike Glass) who’s willing to try a lot of different things,” Kobal said. “He’ll put players in positions they haven’t played in before. We’ll try things in practice. He’s looking to the future so he’s looking for new players to play different positions. We try those in games and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, but I think we’ve been able to progress because we mix things up.”
The final home game on April 28 against San Leandro will be a big deal for the seniors.
“All the games up until senior night, I see as growth games,” Peterson said. “Record, obviously something I care about. But because senior night is the last game we’ll play in high school, to me, that means to me significantly more. That’s where I do really want to win and we can win if we put forward what we’ve been going through the whole season and we’re able to lock in on the last game.
“My eyes are just set on senior night. I set my eyes on every game, but that for me since I’m a senior is naturally (where they are).”
Kobal said he’s looking to get some more wins while building the team.
“I’m looking for a couple of wins here and for the team to just get better and look forward to the future,” he said.
Said Glass of the match against Urban, “Definitely a rough game today. I think it was some of the spring break rust. They’re definitely a solid all-around team. We’re usually pretty good in serve receive and we had a really rough day at serve receive.”
The coach said he was happy with Robby Koch’s play. Koch played a set at setter against Urban.
“I think Robby deserves a shout out for playing out of position and just rolling with it,” Glass said. “He’s a freshman. He came in and set a game and he has been all over the court for us and showing that flexibility.”
Piedmont played at Bishop O’Dowd on April 16. The Highlanders next match will be at Berkeley on April 21.