Boys beach volleyball climbs to 7th in SD

Abby Siu, Managing Editor
October 8, 2021

Luke Forster (12) blocks a spiked ball during beach volleyball practice while Marko Lipovic (12) gets ready to receive. Varsity members practice by playing king of the court with the junior varsity team to mentor the younger players. Photo by Jenna Ho-Sing-Loy.

After not having a season last year, the boys beach volleyball team is back and playing in games.

With a record of 3 wins and 1 loss this season, Noah Lim (12) said he feels like the team is good enough to win CIF.

“I’m really excited to get back out there,” Lim said. “We have a pretty good line up, so I see [winning CIF] as a possibility.”

The team won against Classical Academy, the 25th best team in California, 2-0 Sept. 24.

Luke Forster (12), a returning player on the team, used to play basketball, using volleyball as a conditioner. He enjoyed volleyball a lot, and ended up quitting basketball last year because of a scheduling conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now, in his last year of high school, he’s playing volleyball full time. 

This will be his last season of beach volleyball at Westview, and the team is already climbing the ranks, claiming its spot within the top 10 teams in San Diego this year.

“I think the season is going pretty well,” Forster said. “Our teams are running, and a lot of new people are coming.”

Some of the players, like Forster, are also hoping that their beach volleyball season will help them prepare for indoor volleyball in February.

“I just hope we use this as a warmup for indoor so that we can have a good season for indoor [volleyball],” Forster said. “Hopefully we have a winning record.”

Beach volleyball, unlike indoor volleyball, is played with only two people per side, meaning that each player has to cover multiple positions each game.

“In indoor, you’re playing only one position, but in beach, you can do every single position,” Forster said. “You’re playing with one of your best friends, and I enjoy it a lot.”

According to Lim, it’s really important to work on individual skills to play at a high level with a team, and as of Tuesday, the team is currently ranked seventh in San Diego with an overall record of 14-7.

“[Volleyball] requires a lot of teamwork,” Lim said. “The amount of work you need to put in to be an individual player [and] a team, when it comes together, is really fun [to see].”