15 years ago was Prospect Heights last official boys volleyball team. For perspective, that was in the year 2008-2009. It was the last official boys volleyball team, until this year. 2024-2025, the boys volleyball team for Prospect Heights was created. Volleyball in BASE High School and Prospect Heights Campus was dormant until students used their voice to advocate for an official team.
“I love the fact that I was dragged back into coaching by the passion of the sports. A group of kids were like, I wanna play, I wanna play, I want a team. I wanna play. And it was their persistence that convinced me back out into the coaching world.” Ms. Nelson, the volleyball team coach and BASE gym teacher says. “I believe we could go very far, be very successful. But um of course we have a lot of team challenges, so once we get past the little things, I think we’ll be able to do great things, I know we will.”
History of Volleyball in Prospect Heights
Historically, in 2022, to play volleyball students would have to go to another school, Erasmus Hall Campus. Volleyball as a sport here was only a club; a club with around 15 students who would meet in the third floor gym 3-5 times a week. The students would then feel like they could do better, in result, forming a team for Prospect Heights. 2023, the formation of a developmental team was created. The students sent a letter to PSAL (Public School Athletic League), asking to be acknowledged as something different and independent. Not a club or playing for another school, but a team under the name of the Prospect Heights Cardinals. Spring of 2024, was the first developmental season for the volleyball team Prospect Heights Cardinals. This season would consist of 6 official PSAL games against other schools who were also in the development phase of creating a team. The final score of 3-3; three wins and three losses.
After this developmental season, in the Spring of 2025, the first official PSAL games of the PHC (Prospect Heights Cardinals) began. This official season consists of 10 games instead of 6 against schools who all have official teams.
With the boys volleyball team’s first official season, we are going to have a look at how some of the players are currently feeling along with their hopes.
(Kristofer Espeleta)
Starting with Halim, a senior at BASE High School, he was one of those students that advocated for our school to have our own official and independent volleyball team. He’s been here since the beginning, experiencing all the phases: playing in a club, playing for another school, joining the developmentary team, and being on the official team in his last year of high school.
“I’m feeling pretty good, confident, you know, just happy about it. It’s the first official season that I’ve been looking forward to since freshman year. Going from a club to a different school to play, to a developmentary team, and now we are here.” Halim says, “Volleyball is fun, if you allow it to be, it’s not something you should take seriously, play the game how you want to play it and you’ll get better. And watch Haikyuu. Volleyball is welcoming and friendly, make sure to be willing to learn and put effort into it. Volleyball is not a gender-specific sport, try it and if you don’t like then move on.”
With the team being mostly seniors, he is one of the members going to graduate and says about the team he advocated for, “I hope it doesn’t die out hella quick, we don’t get the type of treatment All City has where when seniors dip the rest of the team becomes trash.”
(Kristofer Espeleta)
Continuing on, we are going to listen to the perspective of a new player and his first year on the team. Marneh is a sophomore that doesn’t actually go to BASE, but goes to one of the other schools in the same building, High School for Global Citizenship. Marneh is actually a basketball player who was on the junior varsity basketball team for the Prospect Heights Campus.
“I wanted to try out a new sport and I found volleyball very fun when I would play in the gym. My first year of volleyball has been an adventure when it comes to meeting new people and playing a sport I never thought I’d play,” Marneh says. “I´m very excited and satisfied so far with how our season is going so far and I hope that this team is able to maintain its level of fun but also competitiveness in the future.”
Marneh went into practice knowing no one, but now is on the court with everyone. After many sessions of practice this is what he says about it; “I would describe practice as very random but when Ms Nelson is here I would say it’s very progressive as we learn a lot.”
The last player in discussion will be Adam, a junior at BASE High School who’s played volleyball for three years and is one of the setters for the team. Adam was one of those students that decided to give volleyball a try,even with zero experience, and has kept up with it as of currently.
“Well first year, it was mainly about having fun while playing. But now volleyball has become something I really want to continue, especially in college. Yes, especially because I changed from a playing mentality to a more serious competitive mentality which caused me to constantly improve as a setter.” Adam says when comparing his current year to freshman year playing volleyball.
“I’m excited yet disappointed because this being our first season, I hope we will be able to make it to playoffs and nationals. Well I’m disappointed because looking at the roster of our matches, the other teams seem to be undeveloped. We are underdeveloped too, but I am highly confident that we will be able to make it very far this season,” Adam says about the season so far.
On the topic of what he hopes of the team after this year of seniors graduate, Adam says, “ I hope that some people will be able to step up and take the mantle for them as both this year and last year majority of the team are seniors. Losing the seniors again is gonna cause major damage to the team. And I don’t know if it will be repairable or not.”
In conclusion, the volleyball team as of today is thriving. Currently going 5-1 with 5 wins and 1 loss, the team hopes to make the playoffs. There is concern about it being sustainable; therefore, everyone is encouraged to give it a shot.
“You might develop a brotherhood, you know, give this a try. Give it an opportunity. and auditory to um you grow. I think by the end of the season, the two and a half seasons we’ve had, mean it from a club. to a developmental tune, the team. There has been growth. It is like a brotherhood that these guys will communicate almost forever. So, yeah, give it a chance,” Ms Nelson says.
