(Photos by Josie Santel)

The Francis Howell North Knights faced the Howell Vikings on Thursday, April, 5. The Vikings won both sets 25-23 and 26-24. Despite the loss, the Knights put up a good fight in both games and kept a supportive attitude throughout the matches.

“If you are on the court you can’t have a negative attitude or else other people will have it and then everything will deteriorate, so if you keep a positive attitude when you go out there everyone else will get one,” John Garrelts said. “It will help the team stay positive.”

Some key moments in the game for the Knights were Thomas Beye’s pancake and John Garrelts’ 3 back row kills.

“We are all young so I would not worry about the losses now districts is where it matters,” Dillon Lauer said. “We played so much better a couple weeks ago tonight we were hesitant to play.”

The Knights will have a chance for redemption against the Vikings on May 1. Coach Oppenborn is looking to work on the boy’s confidence between now and then to ensure a win in their rematch. Many of the boys recognize this is their current weakness and something that will need to be improved upon for a successful season.

“It comes down to confidence and our ability in what we can do. I know these guys are better than this we are all better than this even me,” said Lauer