Following their second 9-2 season in a row, the boys’ volleyball team was prepared for their playoff matchups against Watkins Mill, Clarksburg, Winston Churchill and Walter Johnson.

Coming off a four-game winning streak, the boys would first face off in the playoffs against Watkins Mill on May 9. The boys came out firing, defeating Watkins Mill for the second time this season in three straight sets.

After the easy win against Watkins Mill, the Patriots set off against Clarksburg on May 11. The matchup would start off even with zero consecutive team points going into the 10th point. There would be zero multiple-point leads until sophomore Stephen Cheng would get a 3-0 run going for the Patriots from the serving spot. Clarksburg responded with a 4-0 run of their own, giving Clarksburg a 13-12 lead over the boys. After plenty of back-and-forth rallies and multiple failed spike attempts, the Patriots would lose the first set with a 25-23 score.

The team came out hot in the second set, taking an immediate lead and not giving it up the whole set. With three kills in the second set, sophomore Timothy Ouyang led the Patriots to a 25-21 win in the second. The boys started off cold in the third set, opening up with a 5-1 deficit. After multiple unforced errors, the Pats would give away another set, going down 25-18. The boys weren’t going down easy in the fourth, starting off winning 9-3 with multiple team blocks and three kills. The Patriots kept this momentum going throughout the set, winning 25-19 and bringing it to a fifth-set tiebreaker.

Senior Jared Su won the coin toss and elected to serve to begin the set. After a kill from each team making it 1-1, Wootton heated up going on a 5-1 run. An ace by junior Jackson Beaver would propel the Patriots up five. With four points needed remaining, Ouyang and Beaver both picked up a pair of kills to finish off the comeback against Clarksburg and send the Patriots onto the semi-finals against Churchill. “We’re more resilient and our team emphasizes a lot on mental strength,” sophomore Timothy Ouyang said.

Four days after playing against Clarksburg, the boys faced off against one of their two regular season losses in Churchill on May 15. The team started off ice cold, losing both the first and second sets due to multiple errors and miscommunication. Although they were down 2-0 in a matchup against a team they had already lost to, they were able to climb back, winning three sets in a row and completing an unbelievable comeback. “We just had to remind ourselves to have a positive attitude and play to have fun. We didn’t necessarily change the game plan, but we just tried to rub our laughter in our opponent’s face,” senior Jared Su said.

After defeating Churchill, the team was set to face another opponent who had beaten them earlier this season in Walter Johnson. The game took place at Quince Orchard to give neither team home court advantage. Walter Johnson opened up hot, going on multiple four-point runs launching them to a 15-10 lead early in the match. The boys would slowly chip away at the deficit with multiple kills from Ouyang and Beaver.

The Patriots obtained their first lead at 21-20 and were able to finish off the first set with an incredible ace from Cheng. The Wildcats would respond to losing the set with a 5-1 lead with multiple kills coming from any part of the court. The Patriots couldn’t seem to gain control going down 11-5 early. Although being down 13-8 and looking like they were going to give away a set, the team kept fighting. Junior Darek Yu sparked a 15-0 run from the service line, putting the Patriots up by 10 and nearly sealing the second set. They would finish off the set with a block from sophomore John Liu giving them a comfortable 2-0 lead.

The third set would continue to go back and forth with ties at 2-2, multiple one point games all throughout the teens, and a tie at 22-22. After an error from Walter Johnson and an attempted spike going out of bounds, the Patriots had match point at 24-22. The serve went over the net, the Wildcats sent it back, Su gave Beaver a pinpoint set, and Beaver called game. From backs against the wall in multiple playoff games, to Regional Champions this Patriots season was one to remember. “What I’ve told my team is the only thing that makes you stronger is to fight through adversity, losing in the regular season to Walter Johnson and Churchill made us stronger in the playoffs when we had to go through them,” Coach Tony Malinauskas said.