The boys volleyball team fell 3-1 to South Fayette in the home opener Friday night.

Senior Alex Kelly thought South Fayette did a good job of talking through the game, helping them to a win. 

“I think they communicated very well,” Kelly said. 

Communication was something Baldwin lacked, team members said. But junior Ayush Rai said that although Baldwin lost, the Highlanders showed many strengths throughout the game. 

“I think our serving was really good, and then our defense, our blocks, and our digs were pretty good as well,” Rai said. 

Rai acknowledged what makes the team work well together. 

“When we were not in our heads and we were just flowing and playing for fun, that’s when we were all working together,” Rai said. 

Junior Pritam Neopaney felt like he was in his head too much during the game, and so he played nervously. 

“It was just the first-game jitters,” Neopaney said. “I just played nervous, and I think we were getting back in the groove.” 

In their winning set, Neopaney believes that they showed strong points that could have helped them in the sets they struggled in.

“We didn’t let them start off with a lot of points, and we weren’t looking at the score or anything. We were just playing,” Rai said.  

Regardless of the game’s outcome, both Rai and Neopaney believe the team had a good first game and are optimistic about the rest of the season.

The Highlanders’ next game is at home against Hempfield at 7:30 pm. Tuesday.