The boys volleyball team lost their first game of the season to South Fayette this year, but junior Ayush Rai said it ended up contributing to the Highlanders’ strong season.
Losing that first game helped the team know what they had to work on, he said.
“We were still a new team in a way. It definitely showed us a bunch of our flaws, so we knew what to work on next practice,” Rai said.
For Rai, this season was the latest chapter in his volleyball story. He discovered volleyball through his cousin, Bibeak Bhujel, who played for Baldwin. When Rai would go over to his cousin’s house, he would watch Bhujel play, and he instantly fell in love with the sport.
Rai’s love for the sport progressed as he played for the middle school team, and then Baldwin’s high school team. One of his biggest motivations comes from when he sees middle school students looking up to him.
“When I inspire them, it makes me want to continue playing,” Rai said.
Once, Rai said, he saw himself as a sort of prodigy, but through playing with the team, he knew he had to leave that mindset behind.
“I thought I was like some chosen kid. Then I realized I’m just like everyone else. It’s very humbling,” Rai said. “It’s just made a major impact on my life.”
Rai’s teammate, junior Martino Suta, has known Rai since fifth grade and has noticed the social growth he has made.
“I think he matured,” Suta said. “He’s someone you can talk to. He’s just one of those guys that’s not going to make fun of you for anything.”
Junior Pritam Neopaney, Rai’s teammate, acknowledged Rai’s skills among the team.
“He’s like water: He always finds a way,” Neopaney said.
Rai sees his role on the team to be not just tactical but also mentally supportive.
“As a setter, it’s not only my job to give my teammates the ball, but also to make sure that they feel confident and to keep feeding them,” he said.
After high school, Rai hopes to attend Penn State, but is open to attending Division 3 schools such as MIT or Carnegie Mellon. Rai is interested in majoring in mechanical engineering and is taking AP Calculus and AP Physics to prepare for it.
“I have goals of trying to at least play a few games in college, whether that’s Division 3 or Division 1,” Rai said. “But it’s not my main goal.”
This was a big year for the boys volleyball team, as they reached the WPIAL semifinals before losing to North Allegheny. Hopes for their next season are high. Rai, who will be entering his senior year as one of the team’s leaders, will be working to improve throughout the offseason.
“I’d like to increase my vertical a lot more, and that aspect of the game,” Rai said.
