Congratulations Hawks! Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) varsity boys volleyball brought home the silver, taking second place from among 16 regional teams that competed in the recent Aptos Varsity Tournament. ‘Although we’ve only played one tournament and a few matches so far this season, the Aptos Tournament, with 16 teams from around the Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley area, is traditionally the tournament that lets you know where you stand outside and within your league,’ noted incoming varsity boys coach Nate Rockhold. Rockhold, who co-teaches fifth grade at MMS, formerly coached MMS’ junior varsity girls volleyball and boys basketball.
‘We got to see a lot of what’s out there in the surrounding area. We went in seeded number one in our pool and then lost a match in pool play and ended up facing Bellarmine in brackets, meeting them in the finals. It was a super good experience for our team. It’s quite an accomplishment for our team to come in second among all that talent, and to be able to play and compete at the level this early in the season was really beneficial for us.’
The Hawks’ junior middle, Holden Smith, shared his reflection on the team’s performance at the tournament:
‘I felt confident in our team’s ability going into the tournament. We were positive and stayed focused. Our team this year is fresh and different with a fair number of new players. Our biggest strength is the positive leadership of our seniors, Pedro, Sage and Tobin, and the seamless transition we’ve had from our former varsity Coach PK McDonald [currently the team’s assistant coach] to our new coach, Nate Rockhold. Both coaches have similar styles and mentality and our goal is still to win.
‘Although Aptos is our biggest competition in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League, we’re a scrappy team who can deal with soreness and fatigue and never give up. We are a cohesive unit and are there to win.’
Teammate Brigg Busenhart, freshman outside, agreed:
‘I woke up feeling pretty confident going into this tournament. Sensations were running through my body knowing that this is the Aptos Mariners home and that we had a high chance finishing higher than them.
‘There were only a few teams that were tough competition for us. We lost to Los Altos in pool play. To make up for that loss we beat Saratoga in three games and were ahead by 5-10 points each game — and the previous time we played them it went to five games!
‘This year I think our team can make it to the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals, I feel one reason we are successful is that we are all best friends. Having Nate as a coach is awesome, I have no bad things to say about him. I feel like no matter what, he has my back. Being a freshman I never had PK as a coach, but I have heard many great things about his coaching style.
‘Having us all be great friends and always have a good attitude, never getting down on each other, pushing through tough situations has helped us in becoming successful from all of the work we put in.’
The 2015 varsity boys team members are: Chris Colip, David Kerr, Pedro Aguirre, Sage Buzzini and Tobin Mitchell, 12th grade; Ethan Harrington, Holden Smith, Louis Marshall and Tyler Sullens, 11th grade; Nate Vince, 10th grade; and Brigg Busenhart and Zac Clark, 9th grade.
Go Hawks!
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Photo by Chris Busenhart
Contact: Leigh Ann Clifton, Marketing & Communications,
Nestled among the redwoods on 355 mountaintop acres, Mount Madonna is a safe and nurturing college preparatory school where students learn to think, create and succeed. The fully-accredited program emphasizes academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Located on Summit Road between Gilroy and Watsonville.