Since debuting as a varsity sport three years ago, the Belmont High School boys volleyball program has enjoyed steady improvement.
The Marauders went 5-9 in year one and 7-10 in year two. This spring, the team hopes to qualify for the MIAA Division I tournament. To get there, it will take a combination of experienced senior leaders doing their part and underclassmen stepping up to fill important roles.
“Success is not having any regrets,” senior setter Ian Choi said. “I feel like I don’t want to end the season thinking we could’ve fixed something better, tried harder in practice, or listened to our coach more. We’re putting in the most that we can, and that’s success.”
Choi, the team’s lone Middlesex League All-Star a season ago, brings skill and experience. Choi joins six other varsity returners, including fellow senior captains Nathan Peck and Jack Ly, classmates Thomas Yu and Andrew Quinn, and juniors William Sun and Ethan Lu. Choi, Ly, Peck, Sun, and Thomas Yu have all played varsity since the program’s inception.
It’s a true family atmosphere in the program that sets it apart, Choi said.
“Everyone knows each other on a deeper level than just being a teammate,” he said. “It helps lift others up, learn better, practice better, and play better.”
Second-year coach Ian Bleecker inherited a program with a lot of chemistry. It was easy to fit in and hit the ground running. The family atmosphere translates across the boys and girls teams. Girls players serve as managers and help out with boys practices in the spring. The boys do the reverse in the fall.
There are both varsity and junior varsity programs this spring, and pretty much everyone who tried out made the squad. Bleecker and the program plan to host a clinic for seventh- and eighth-graders to drum up more interest, as soon as during April break. There is no middle school team.
“It’ll be, hopefully, one of our strongest seasons and maybe a little bit of rebuilding next year,” Bleecker said.
The team won its first match of the season, 3-0 against Catholic Memorial Middle/High School on April 3. Other key contests to monitor the rest of the way include:
- April 14 vs. Lexington High School, 5:30 p.m.
- April 17 at Wellesley High School, 4 p.m.
- April 27 vs. Winchester High School, 5:15 p.m.
- May 13 vs. Arlington High School, 5:15 p.m.
“It’s pretty loaded, actually, in terms of total number of games, and we’re stacked against a few high-level teams,” Bleecker said. “It’s good, and we’re ready.”
