Down two sets trailing Moorpark College 22-24, the San Diego Mesa men’s volleyball team was hoping to score 3 unanswered points and extend the game another set. The serve came from Moorpark and everybody in the San Diego Mesa gym was on edge waiting to see if the Olympians could make the comeback and fight for another set. The intensity and tension could be felt in the air as Mesa and Moorpark were battling back and forth, Moorpark trying to end the game and Mesa trying to hold on. The ball was sent back on a volley from Moorpark and in a saddening fashion, the ball hit the floor of the gym giving the Olympians the 3-0 loss on Feb 18.
The match, which was rescheduled from Jan. 28 due to COVID-19, featured very close sets, with Mesa being edged 19-25, 29-25 and 22-25.
Head Coach David Profitt was asked before the game what has been the team’s main goals and focus coming into this season. Coach Proffitt responded by stating “Our mental toughness, we have tried to be more mentally tough and in the past week we have done a lot of work in our theories class to work on our toughness.” Coach Proffitt was also asked who are some of the key players that people should be looking out for this season. Coach Proffitt said, “#1 Jorge Hernandez, who is our outside hitter, he is really playing well and is a high-flyer as well as an attacker. I believe our best player right now is #5 Mike Whallen, he is really holding down that leadership role and making sure we are all in the weight room on time and we’re all doing the things we need to be doing on our day to day schedule. He is the leader and heart of our team.” Jorge and Mike also had the opportunity to respond to a couple of questions revolving around their individual goals, adversity, and goals coming into that game. Mike Whallen was first and was asked how he has handled adversity this season if he has faced any. Mike responded quickly saying, “Personally me, I have been thrust into a leadership position this season which I have never really done before, so it has been out of my comfort zone I have to connect with each player individually and stay consistent with my energy and attitude making sure that I stay mindful of it and try to be better every day.” Jorge Hernandez then came over and gave his insight into the game that was taking place that day. Jorge was asked what were some of the goals coming into this game. Jorge responded with, “Definitely after yesterday a really good victory, keeping the same up we literally lost two games in a row before yesterday so now we are just trying to keep that same energy up from yesterday.”
With it still being early in the season the San Diego Mesa men’s volleyball team is looking forward to picking things back up and getting on the right track and back into the win column. The San Diego Mesa Olympians are coming off a 1-13 past season looking ahead to the future in hopes of turning that record completely around and with Leaders such as #5 Mike Whallen and #1 Jorge Hernandez, that goal seems to be close enough to grasp. Make sure to support your San Diego Mesa men’s volleyball team as they head to Irvine Valley on February 23rd to compete and hopefully come out on top with a win.
