MIAA boys' volleyball tournament: Favorites, sleepers, players to watch for Divisions 1-2
Western Mass. powerhouses make up the top pair in Division 2, but will Wayland make a push after last season's finals appearance?
Here's a preview of the brackets:
Division 1
Favorite
: No. 1 Brookline.
Sleeper
: No. 5 Lexington.
Players to watch
: outside/setter Branch Barnes
(Natick, Sr.), middle Andrew Kurdziel (Needham, Sr.), outside Ale Luciani (Lexington, Sr.), setter Eric Su (Cambridge, Sr.), outside Kris Vaivars
(Brookline, Sr.), outside Simon Vardeh (Newton North, Sr.).
Best first-round matchup
: Thursday, No. 17 Newton South at No. 16 St. John's Prep.
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Longest first-round road trip
: Thursday No. 39 Lowell Catholic to No. 26 Barnstable, 98.6 miles.
Analysis
: While Bay State teams earning the top seeds is was expected, the behemoths of Needham (which was a set away from four-peating last spring) and Newton North (won four of the last five volleyball seasons, girls included) are just the Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. No. 2 Natick has not won since 2007 and top-seeded Brookline is seeking its first title since 1992.
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These four only lost to each other last postseason, and could make up the semifinals by themselves, but some teams sense the door could be open this time around. Middlesex League champion Lexington (5-seed) and No. 7 Cambridge from the Dual County League each took a set against Brookline. Watch out for No. 22 Milford and No. 23 St. John's (Shrewsbury), which are not long removed from semifinal appearances and can be potent if playing their best.
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Division 2
Favorite
: No. 1 Agawam.
Sleeper
: No. 5 Chicopee Comprehensive.
Players to watch
: outside Aleksandr Bak (West Springfield, Sr.), outside Finn Bell (Wayland, Jr.), libero Tri Duong (Latin Academy, So.), outside Joe Culhane (Agawam, Sr.), outside Zach Kukharchuk (Westfield, Sr.), Noah Johnson (Chicopee Comp., Jr.).
Best first-round matchup
: Thursday, No. 23 O'Bryant at No. 10 Medfield.
Longest first-round road trip
: Thursday, No. 37 Lynn Tech to No. 28 Frontier Regional (Deerfield), 108 miles.
Analysis
: Last season provided fireworks at the end, with reverse sweeps in the semifinals and finals. Of the top three teams, the winner was the one that only had to face one of the other two. It's the same three at the top, but instead of Westfield at No. 1, it's Agawam. Wayland at No. 3 will try to prevent one of the last two champions from doing it again.
Chicopee Comp. enters at No. 5 after its sophomore-heavy roster made a stunning run with the 22-seed last postseason. That core returns for its junior year, but with a move up to D1 looming next season. The Colts account for Agawam's only loss on the year. No. 14 Greater Lowell and No. 9 Latin Academy, each which lost to Chicopee Comp last postseason, have strong groups that hope to venture further this time.
AJ Traub can be reached at
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