Last year our boys volleyball program started their season with a bang, coachless, lacking players, and $750 in debt. Coming off a disappointing 2020-2021 campaign, falling short at both city and state, the varsity team was looking to mount a comeback in the 2021-2022 season. This goal was immediately derailed with the firing of their head coach, who mishandled finances and took money from the program for personal use. This misuse of funds resulted in debt, a crippling lack of equipment, and being blacklisted by a bus company.

By spring, with the season starting soon, the program needed to hire a new coach. Luckily, a former coach of the girl’s program, Michael Quevedo, was available. Immediately he was hired to coach both the boy’s and girl’s programs. What should be evident at this point is that he had been handed a broken program in need of repair, so his first order of business after tryouts was to fundraise. The first and most successful event was selling food in the school, which grossed enough money to pay off the debt. Any extra money earned went towards buying new equipment, jerseys, and other necessities.

Now, having the money to fund a season, Coach Quevedo and the team could focus on avenging the shortcomings in the city playoffs. After steamrolling through their conference, they hit a bump in the road, losing to Von Steuben High School. Following that unexpected loss, the team went on to win their remaining conference games with ease. Sleepwalking their way to city finals, they faced Walter Payton College Prep, who they beat handily in two sets, officially completing their comeback season. But they still had more in them as they proceeded to dismantle St. Rita High School in a three-set thriller, crowning the dolphins as regional champions. This team came from having almost no equipment, mounds of debt, and no coach to being one of the top 16 teams in the state all in one season. This year they look to repeat that magic and possibly expound on it to win the state playoffs. But the first order of business is to find a bus company that will do business with them.