Carrying on their momentum from the South Korea Association of International Schools (SKAIS) victories, the middle school boys’ volleyball team traveled to Jeju island for the Korean International School Activities Conference (KISAC) tournament on Feb. 26 to 28. With heightened excitement for gold, varsity secured silver and junior varsity earned bronze. 

 Varsity traveled to North London Collegiate School (NLCS) for their two-day tournament. They kick-started their morning against the KISJ Dragons, one of the strongest competitors in the league. Despite appearing as the underdog, they dominated the Dragons in the first set, through setter Aiden Hwang (18)’s nasty jump float serves (25:13).

Despite the hype, the overexcitement led to small mistakes on the court for the second set, as the boys showed signs of nervousness (25:23).

With the match tied, the squad entered the court determined to prevail in the 15-point set. Captain and outside hitter Daniel Kim (21) set the tone with powerful spikes as the momentum shifted to the Jets. “We were excited and nervous to play against KISJ until the third set. We didn’t expect to perform that well, but all of us managed to focus for the third set,” said Kim. Following the lead, they secured a win (8:15).

Right after their clutch victory, they vied off against the home team, NLCS Orcas. While their confidence boosted their gameplay, the Orcas bounced back with powerful jump serves. Facing a strong opponent, the Jets struggled to maintain their focus, dropping the game (25:13, 25:14). 

After lunch, they locked in to compete against the defending champions, the SJA Hilltoppers. The squad started off strong, with the early stages of the game being tight, but the Hilltoppers proved too strong (25:23, 19:25, 7:15). 

After the tough defeat, DIS regrouped to face the BFS Sharks. Taking the previous loss as a lesson, they secured a dominant victory. “It was an easy game for us. After we beat KISJ, we were all really excited, but then we lost to NLCS and BFS back-to-back. It put us down, but the win against BFS really hyped us up,” said Hwang (18). 

On day two, the Jets faced the FPS Eagles for their final round-robin match. They came out with fresh energy from the start. Consistent serves and solid teamwork allowed them to build an early lead. They consistently showcased high-quality plays in the remaining sets and ultimately secured the win. 

With a total of three wins and two losses, DIS was placed third seed in the tournament bracket. Their first elimination game flared off against FPS. The boys played with confidence, demonstrating strong communication and consistency on both offense and defense. They continued to control the match and advanced to semi-finals (25:10 and 25:20). 

In the semi-finals, DIS faced the NLCS Orcas, the team that handed them a hard loss on day one. Determined to seek revenge, the Jets stepped onto the court with a winning mindset. Although the Orcas remained formidable and took the first set, putting DIS under pressure, the Jets bounced back in the second set, showcasing improved defensive coordination. 

In a 1:1 tie, the third set unfolded with intensity, both teams battling for every point. Through middle Honglim Jin (2)’s ace serve, DIS advanced to the finals with a 15:13 victory. 

“I think the biggest win for us was actually the semifinal because that team was NLCS and we lost to them in the round-robin play. I think the boys weren’t super confident that they were going to win it. And that was a huge win. That was a massive win for them, like in terms of confidence and just feeling really good about themselves. And I felt really good about it too,” said Coach Jolly.

In the finals against SJA, the Jets struggled to maintain their composure, giving the Hilltoppers an early lead. In a 23-23 tie, poor line calls from the referees contributed to the loss (25:23). The narrow defeat put the team under pressure for set two. Despite the effort to recover, SJA controlled the match onwards. DIS ultimately concluded the tournament with silver medals. 

“I thought that DIS was the hardest and most impressive team to play against. Personally, I thought that as a person who played volleyball for a long time, DIS had players with strong physicality like Daniel K. He had hits that were really strong so I think that was a hard part.” said right side Tyler Ham from SJA. 

JV headed to KISJ for their two-day tournament. Even with only seven players, they kick-started their tournament with a strong performance against SJA Hilltoppers 2. Displaying confidence, DIS brought a lopsided match. Setter Miles Long (24) controlled the tempo through precise sets to the hitters. 

In their second match, they faced another SJA team, SJA 1. Despite their victorious momentum, the Hilltoppers stood too strong for the Jets.

After lunch, the crew vied off against BFS Sharks. They showcased clear improvements from the previous match. Their efforts paid off as they secured another win, ending the day with two wins and one losses.

On day two, the Jets clashed against KISJ, the strongest team in the JV division. Despite showing great effort, DIS fell short. “It was a hard match against KISJ. They were really tall and strong, but we tried our best to take the win,” said right side Jay Jang (6).

For the last round-robin match, the Jets challenged the NLCS Orcas. Facing another strong opponent, DIS struggled to earn points through simple tips and hits. The Orcas prevailed, as the Jets ended with three wins and two losses in the table. 

After the preliminary rounds concluded, they battled against SJA 1 for bronze. In a rematch, the boys locked in to secure the win. The team synchronized and stepped up their game, allowing them to earn bronze.  

With a sweet end to the season, the middle schoolers shift gears from volleyball to basketball for their final run. “We’re going to miss some of our players next year. However, I’m very excited for some of the up-and-coming players that we have in seventh grade right now. Sixth graders did really well this year, and I think they learned a lot. It was a really successful season,” said Coach Jolly.