Unity unique: UCA in second season of fielding only boys’ volleyball team in area

Published 2:23 am Tuesday, April 1, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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CHOCOWINITY, N.C. — It’s not a sight we’re used to seeing in these parts.

Teenage boys from Unity Christian Academy took to the volleyball court on Thursday to take on Hilltop Christian out of Fuquay-Varina. Some of these Warriors on the private school varsity team were freshmen learning the sport for the first time. Others were upperclassmen who were on the team last season.

On the Unity Christian website is the phrase “Pray for wisdom. Practice virtue.” It’s a phrase that can apply to the only boys varsity volleyball program in Beaufort County and one of the few in the region. The team is learning and helping each other out in a sport that’s not played by many public or private schools in the area but is sparking interest across the state much like flag football did last fall for girls’ athletics.

“See, what got me interested in playing is that I really love being active, and it’s a great opportunity to move around the court,” said Shane Fisher, one of several second-year players on the squad. “Being able to exercise your legs and your entire body, it’s a great physical sport. And it’s just amazing.”

Mandy Pichardo is in her first season as the head coach after assisting the girls’ team last fall. Athletic director Joey Craft was the coach last season in large part because nobody else could lead the squad. He said he learned the sport with the rest of the team as they struggled through a winless campaign.

This season, Pichardo said they are working on everything from serving to passing, blocking, foot movement and everything else to make learning the sport easier and success soon to follow.

“Just getting them to realize that it’s a very physical, mental sport and that it’s not negating any of that, you know, gruff like manly-type, like speed and fight and everything that you see in the contact sports that they normally play,” Pichardo said. “It’s a sport of agility and it’s a mental sport, you know. Knowing your spots on the court, knowing the court sense, being able to move quickly from side to side and have that agility and letting them know that that’s power to know that and that you have to perfect those fundamentals with this sport.

“And then once you do that, you can just build and stack and you can just really just own it.”

Unity had some strong moments with players like freshman Austen Vann and sophomore captain Avery Diaz setting up shots for return or tapping the ball over the net for a point. Junior Shane Fisher served the ball underhanded and picked up several points in a row as Hilltop Christian struggled to return the serve or get the ball back over the net.

They’ve learned from their mistakes and applied the teaching they’ve received along the way. Examples of that were the points the Warriors strung together to get within 24-10 before Hilltop closed out the second set. Unity got some early points in the third set and trailed 5-4 before Hilltop put together enough points, including several aces on serves, to pull away.

“Well, from last year, we were terrible at communicating, terrible from moving around the court, Fisher said. “And from this year, I mean, we got a lot better at communicating and we’ve been actively moving around the court, helping us improve our hitting and practicing tips and tricks that we can use on the court.”

Pichardo said the physical aspect of the game the boys play is different from the finesse and strategy — along with power — that the girls bring. It makes the sport that much more interesting to watch when the guys take the court.

 It’s really great too because of the power that men just normally have, you know, with their anatomy, and they’re able to really serve so hard and hit so much harder,” Pichardo said. “It’s just really neat when they’re able to really perfect that serve and that hit and just seeing that look of pure joy on their face like, ‘Wow,’ that power is applied and that’s really cool.”

Pichardo said she can see the progress the team is making but success can sometimes take time and patience. But it appears the players and Pichardo are willing to put in the time to make that happen.

“I feel like they’re able to talk on the court to each other and move quickly,” Pichardo said. “They’re hustling positivity toward each other. Just being able to have a good energy on the court.

“They’re learning, ‘Hey, I can call the ball, I can talk to him on the court. I can hustle and I can back him up in case he doesn’t get it.’ You know what I mean?

“And they’re able to trust each other a little bit more. So we’re moving toward positive communication and hustle.”

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