Oftentimes, when a student is unhappy with a policy in or out of school, he or she will simply quit and let the issue live on. Such is not the case for senior Vivek Mantha, who has stood up and made a change for many fellow HHS students.

Mantha, who has played opposite for the HHS varsity volleyball team since his sophomore year, spent his off season playing for No. 25 in the country Central Jersey Volleyball Academy. As a two-year first team all conference athlete, Mantha enjoyed the competitive nature of the Central Jersey Volleyball Academy, but he and his teammates found it to be too expensive.

As an alternative, the team chose to try out for the local club team: Core Volleyball. Located in Hillsborough, Core Volleyball seemed to be a good option for Mantha and his teammates, but after making the team they found that the $2000 cost for the season was not worth the playing experience they earned in return.

“I realized that if I could find a way to secure gym space and sign up for tournaments, I could do the same thing that Core does,” Mantha said. “My experiences inspired me to create my own club team that could be affordable for myself and my teammates.”

Mantha’s first task was to secure gym space in which the team could practice. With the help of fellow senior Michael Jeney, Mantha and his crew were able to go to the Hillsborough Parks and Recreation Department and get a local space to practice in twice a week.

Once they had gym space, the Boro Volleyball Club was formed. Mantha himself coaches the team, but even so his teammates are taking the sport much more seriously than before.

“We held informal tryouts the first two days of practice,” Mantha said. “It was so good to see the guys working so hard.”

After getting a USA membership, which is needed to be certified as a club team, the Boro Volleyball Club was able to begin entering tournaments. The team, dressed in uniforms made by senior team member Kevin Cole, earned second place in their first tournament on Oct. 15.

“For now, the team is just made up of my teammates from the high school volleyball team,” Mantha said. “But in the future, I hope that the Boro Volleyball Club will grow, and we can open tryouts to anyone that loves the game and is looking for a new place to play.”