For the past five years, the South East boys volleyball team has dominated the Eastern League, finishing with a record of 11-1 for five straight years, under Coach Satti, who has been coaching boys volleyball since 2013. 

As the 2025-2026 season comes around the corner, seniors prepare for their final season of volleyball and underclassmen continue their volleyball career. Meanwhile, the coaches prepare gameplans against the other Eastern League teams. 

Many players are setting the bar high, having lofty expectations for themselves and for the team. 

“To win a championship and bring it back for South East,” said by senior Nathan Vargas when asked about the team’s goal for this season. 

“My expectations for this season is to win all our games in league and then go into playoffs and hopefully take care of business,” shared junior Jared Medina.

Every year, teams lose seniors along with their experience and leadership. Coach Satti explains the difficulty of seeing student athletes come and go. 

“You form a bond with these seniors, some of them since they were 9th graders. You see them as 14-year old kid coming in and they graduate as 18-year olds.” 

As difficult as it is to lose special bonds and experienced players, Coach Satti has shaped his program to always make young players gain a ton of experience. 

“We lose experienced players because we start them so young in JV, and they're used to having a winning season. So when they come to varsity, they already come with a lot of experience.” 

As you lose seniors, you lose team chemistry, which is a key factor on how a team performs. But all players unanimously agreed that the team's chemistry has increased since last year. Senior Javier Lujano feels he can call the team his family while senior Damian Enriquez even noted that there are no longer any egos on the team.

“I feel like this year, this team is more like a family,” Enriquez shared. “There's no egos on the team, so honestly, I think in my opinion this team is better than last year’s volleyball team.” 

When a team like South East dominates the Eastern League for five straight years, it creates a target on their back. Players express feeling pressure to do well this season because of their recent success. Enriquez feels pressure during every game because of his coaches high expectations on them, and junior Adam Chavez feels they gained a bit more pressure because of last season's performance and in the playoffs – the Jaguars lost to Marquez High School in the semi-finals. 

However Coach Satti thinks differently, feeling more pressure to teach players on bettering themselves. 

“The pressure is not in the wins and losses for me, as much as it is in what the players get out of it,” he explained. “Wins and losses for coaches, they come and go. I want them to get out of my program better than they came in. I want them to graduate. If they have to go to college, go to college. Go to a four-year university, meet their goals, meet their dreams, and understand that when they leave my program, they're gonna be a better person overall.” 

Coach Satti feels that the sport is an avenue to teach the players about life lessons and preparation for life after high school. “Volleyball is a tool for me to teach them about life, so when they leave here, they're gonna be better prepared for life, not just for volleyball.”

As preseason comes to an end and the 2025-2026 season begins, many players are ready for another season, while some are ready for their last year of both high school and volleyball. And coaches are ready to face any challenges that may face their way. 

The team has one goal in mind: to win a CIF championship. As Coach Satti explains when asked about his expectations for this season, he laid out the team goals, “Always to win a CIF championship. We start by winning one game at a time, then we work for league championship, then work one playoff game at a time, which will hopefully lead into winning the city championship.”

South East take their first step toward achieving that goal. The team’s first league game begins Monday, March 9, at Roosevelt High School.