After two straight state championship appearances – and two heartbreaking losses – the Wayland boys volleyball team is entering the 2026 season with unfinished business.

In 2024, Wayland lost in the state championship to Westfield in five sets. In 2025, Wayland lost in the state championship to Agawam in four sets.

“The two championship losses are just such a punch in the gut,” senior captain Finn Bell said. “It just sucked.”

This year, both head coach Philip George and Bell believe that Wayland has something that they lacked in previous years: depth. Wayland has 13 returning varsity players, all of whom played club volleyball in the offseason.

“The last two years we relied really heavily on Finn, and he’s been good enough that we could do that, and it would take us very far,” George said. “This year, I think we have many more strong, offensive options. We’ve always had a very good defense. We’ve been a good serving and passing team,
but we’ve struggled to have consistent offense, and I think this year, fingers crossed, the hope is that we have it.”

Bell has been a leader on the court for Wayland, and recently committed to D’Youville University to play volleyball next year. Last year, Bell broke Wayland’s all-time career kill record, surpassing 2017 Wayland graduate Jack Fletcher before even entering his senior season.

“Finn is such a talented player,” George said. “[Finn] is the best player in our program’s history. However, there are clear areas for improvement for him. He needs to diversify his own offense, and he needs to improve at the serving line. I think if he can do those two things, we’ll be pretty unstoppable.”

This year, George outlined the team’s four major goals: compete with character, win the league, get the No.1 seed for the state tournament and win the state tournament.

“The biggest thing that we’ve learned from the past two years is how to play in a big game,” Bell said. “With those losses, there were also big wins in the semifinals each year. Learning how to compete and dominate in those kinds of games has been really valuable for our players, and we have a lot of experience here, so we’re used to that kind of environment.”

Wayland opens its season Thursday, March 26, against Brookline High School at the WHS Field House. Wayland’s full schedule can be found on Arbiter.

“We have a great squad this year,” Bell said. “Everybody really wants this win. This is the season for us.”