The boys’ volleyball team clenched the state title this weekend in an exciting win over Lyman High School, breaking the Greyhound’s 59-game winning streak in four sets.

Looking back, it’s been a memorable year for the team.

The volleyball team recently capped off an impressive performance at the first annual “Berkeley Challenge,” which featured top volleyball teams from around the state. The Bucs had some of the most elite players in the tournament, with both captain Kyle Dagostino, class of ’14, and starting setter Hugo Rapp, class of ’15, being named to the all-tournament team. The team is 15-7 for the year, 10 of those matches without Dagostino.

Despite suffering a loss last year in the district finals, Rapp believed the team could make a push to the final four this year. “Because our district got a lot easier, winning that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Dagostino said last week, “as long as we can take care of Bishop Moore in regionals, we should be able to go all the way. It all depends on how consistently we play.” And that’s exactly what they did, defeating Bishop Moore in regionals to advance to the State semi-finals.

Both of these athletes also have shared many memorable moments during the season. Hugo enjoyed beating Sunset to get into the gold bracket during the Ransom tournament. Kyle’s shining moment, on the other hand, was battling against a tough Southwest team in the Berkeley Challenge, where the Bucs unfortunately lost in three close games. He described it as one of his “all-time favorite matches.”

Although he has been sidelined for a few matches, Dagostino has achieved many accomplishments this year including only eleven errors in ten games, and a .510 hitting percentage. He has been a member of the varsity team since the seventh grade and feels this year is his favorite out of his six seasons.

Dagostino had a feeling the team could win it all.  He said, “This is one of the best teams we’ve had in years with so many offensive weapons at each position.”

Freshman Noah Kraus, one of the youngest members on the team, describes the winning moment as one of celebration but also “complete shock.” The victory over the previously undefeated Greyhounds was an almost surreal experience, and the team gathered together on the court to “take it all in” after the match. For Coach Dagostino, the victory serves as a perfect ending to his long, successful volleyball career.

Kyle Dagostino will be continuing his volleyball career at Stanford next year. This will be the first time in six years he will have played under a coach that is not his father. When asked about this change, he said that he hasn’t really thought about it much. “It hasn’t really crossed my mind that I’m not going to be coached by my dad in a few months. I’m still trying to cherish the little time I have left with him.”

Rapp sees Dagostino’s role along with the other seniors on the team as “tough to fill” but is not too worried about next year. He further addressed the future of the team by saying, “a lot of guys are gaining experience playing club, and because many great seniors are graduating from other schools, we will still be contenders.”