There’s no such thing as a side out for Wilcox Volleyball without April Lujan. Or at least it feels that way. The Chargers head coach enters her 14th season in charge of the Wilcox girls volleyball program, and its sideline staple has the team running just like the old cliché, a well-oiled machine. 

Despite losing high-caliber players to graduation last season in Hanako Stone and Kelsy Mock, the confidence level amongst the squad remains unchanged heading into the new campaign. Returning for a second-straight season as captain is senior Emma Gaba, and she is joined by fellow seniors Sienna Spencer and Remi Fierro as leaders of this year’s squad. The trio of varsity veterans is ready to lead a gritty group with goals of winning league and qualifying for the CCS playoffs. 

“Things are going really well in practice,” chimed Gaba after a Tuesday practice, just four days prior to the squad’s first scrimmage match against Westmont on Aug. 19. “We have some pre-built chemistry. I’m excited for the season as we have all played with each other a lot before. The vibes out here have been really good.”

“I think the vibes are pretty good right now,” added Spencer. “We all have the same mindset where we are going after every ball; we are hustling and not giving up on the ball. We are definitely working cohesively together.” 

“Our team is working really well together,” echoed Fierro. “Our defense is on point.” 

The seniors were also not shy about the team’s lofty goals. 

“We really want to win league this year and hopefully make it to CCS,” remarked Gaba on the club’s expectations. “All of our seniors have an extra hunger since it’s our last chance.” 

“Winning league and making CCS is definitely a goal for us,” added Spencer. “It’s always a good goal for us to have for the long term so we always have something that we are working towards.” 

Coach Lujan admitted after the practice that she hasn’t spoken with the team as a group about expectations or goal setting and that her captains were all on the same page on their own. 

“We haven’t talked about goals yet, so that’s them,” acknowledged Lujan. “The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, both De Anza and El Camino are going to be tough competition, which is good for us. The girls talk about winning league, which is great, but to do that we really, really, really need to focus on ball control and not giving up. We are going up against teams that in other leagues would be A teams.” 

In addition to Gaba, Spencer and Fierro, the Chargers have two more seniors on the roster in Katalina Sanchez and Rupinder Kaur. Exactly one-third of Wilcox’s 15-player roster is set to graduate in 2027, while juniors Rebecca Li and Saha Patel graduate in 2028, a veteran-laden squad that appears more than ready for the first serve of the season. 

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