The Moorpark Men’s volleyball team surprised the league by taking fourth and just falling short of third place.

The young team had a rough preseason, where four of their six returning sophomores dropped from the team. Two by choice, one due to lack of units, and another to injury; the team was forced to fill these spots with incoming freshmen.

At the preseason tournament the team had a really rough time, only winning two games out of all the matches they played. It was hard to be enthusiastic for the season, but sophomores and team captains Brandon Kohler and Jose Rojas did the best they could to motivate the team.

“It really motivated us to play better for the season,” said Rojas about the preseason tournament.

With only two returning sophomores, the team had to use freshmen to fill in the majority of positions on the court. The new young players had a difficult time right away adjusting to the new level of play.

Kohler, even through all the preseason turmoil, felt confident with the new team.

“I knew that the people who stayed wanted to work hard and fight to the finish,” said Kohler. “I knew we’d have the hardest working crew.”

The team’s hard worked paid off, they went into the season and took fourth place, much higher then anyone expected. They had an overall record of 9-10 and a conference record of 6-6. The Raiders fell one game short of making playoffs, when they were defeated by Santa Monica in the last game of the season.

Moorpark always gave it everything they had, even against the number one and two teams in the conference, forcing both El Camino and Long Beach to five games in their matches. Moorpark’s strongest asset was their defense, and it showed all season. In the conference, the Raiders were second in most digs and second in total blocks.

Moorpark’s two captains also found their way to the top of the conference, with Kohler third in kill percentage and Rojas third in total digs.

Moorpark will be losing their two captains and also their Head Coach Steve Burkhart, who retired at the end of the season. He was really proud of the team, who he said overachieved.

“We did as well as we could,” said Burkhart. “I could say I wish we could have done this and this, but in the long run the team did a really good job.”

The team will lose their two captains, but has gained valuable experience from this season. Under a new coach, the Raiders will look to use that experience to make it to the playoffs next year.