For the Warrenton boys volleyball team, Friday's district opener isn't just another match— it's a chance to rewrite the script. 

“We’re excited to get that game back,” said coach Jake Brown, speaking on behalf of a team hungry for a rematch. 

Now, they have that chance.  

The Warriors (No. 6 seed) will host Timberland (No. 3 seed) on May 9 in the opening round of the Class 1, District 10 tournament at 7 p.m. — a second opportunity from their season opener and first game in program history, which ended in a 3-0 loss to the Wolves. 

“We’re going to give them a much better game,” Brown said. “The districts are like our Super Bowl.” 

Brown’s message to his team has been simple: the regular season is behind them. What matters now is how they perform when it counts most. 

“With the regular season, we want to learn from those games but at the end of the day, our season doesn’t matter,” he said. “We want to make them understand that we can’t hold on to what happened in the season and we can’t hold on to the negative things. We have to let them go and make sure we’re sharp for districts.” 

A lot has changed since the program’s first match. 

“The biggest difference is our defensive structure,” Brown said. “Our blocking is a lot better, our passing, our hitting – really all aspects of the game have gotten better.” 

Warrenton will also have home-court advantage. 

“We have one of the nicest facilities that I went to all year. We have a lot more space and it’s a great atmosphere,” Brown said. “We hope to have a big crowd out there.” 

Beyond technical improvement, Brown sees something even more important in his team: resilience. 

“We had a streak in the season where we lost quite a few games and the kids had maybe one short period of time after one game where we were a little low, but our leadership has gotten to the point where it seems like nothing will bring them down,” Brown said. “Those upperclassmen keep everybody together.” 

The leadership also comes from sophomore setter Matthew Faubion. 

“He’s been a leader by the way he plays. He gives us an opportunity every time to get a good hit on the ball,” he said. 

Brown is also impressed by the whole starting unit. 

“Isaac (Wagner) is doing a good job of not always forcing and I’ve been really impressed with him. Austin White has done a really good job for us and Brayden Brown has been so consistent and he’s been really good for our first passes,” Brown said. 

As the first round of districts looms, Brown hopes his team cleans up on serving in practice. 

“We have a couple days of practice before Friday’s district game,” he said. “We feel good and the kids are excited to try and get them (Timberland) back.”