It’s the start of the boys’ volleyball season, and already there was a five-set thriller between two of the strongest teams in the state.
Brookline came away with the 3-2 (15-11) win ahead of Wayland, and the teams open in that order at the top of the Globe’s initial Top 20 poll.
Somerville earned a 3-2 victory over Cambridge, which will have work to do to replace last year’s setter Eric Su.
Lucas Coffeen coached Newton South to a mighty Cinderella run in the fall, but his team in the spring won’t be sneaking up on anyone with star sophomore Baylor Mandell transferring in from Weston.
Newton North has been on quite the run with Simon Vardeh leading the charge, but it will be up to sophomore outside Aaron Stein to see how far coach Nile Fox’s squad can go.
Natick begins its first boys’ season with Bob Harless as head coach (officially), and will rely on senior setter Luke Dratch to quarterback the offense.
The Globe’s Top 20 boys’ volleyball poll
The Globe poll as of March 28, 2026. Teams were selected by the Globe sports staff.
AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com. Follow him on X @aj_traub and Instagram @ajt37.