On Thursday, June 4, the varsity boys volleyball team defeated Longmeadow at home to advance to the Final Four in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division II tournament. Longmeadow was ranked No. 8 in Division II, while Wayland was ranked No.1. Wayland ultimately won in three straight sets, bringing their record to 21-2 and sending them to the Final Four.

First set:
Wayland started off strong in the first set, quickly pulling to a lead of 11-4 within the first ten minutes of play. From there, Longmeadow started to regain some footing to score three points, but a strong defensive play from senior captain Dylan Engelhardt ended the streak and Wayland was able to fight back into a wide 16-7 lead.

Engelhardt is still recovering from a football season meniscus tear. According to head coach Phillip George, he was playing “like his old self” today, and seemed to be getting back to where he left off in his junior season where he was recognized as a Boston Globe All-Scholastic player.

From there, Wayland maintained a lead as points were exchanged with a strong spike from Engelhardt and an ace from junior setter Zach O’Donnell, bringing the score to 20-10. Wayland kept going and made the score 24-18. Despite a strong hit, Wayland gave up their first chance at the set point when the ball went too far out. However, senior captain Finn Bell tipped the next one over the net to give Wayland the first set win.

Second set:
The second set started off closer than the first, with Longmeadow closing in on the lead at 11-10. Wayland pulled ahead, but Longmeadow kept the gap small throughout the set, bringing the score to 21-18.

This was an impressive set for both O’Donnell and Bell, with O’Donnell having two setter dunks. Bell had a strong hit over the net and an impressive defensive block to put Wayland ahead 23-18.

The final two points of this set were secured by Bell, who hit two aces in a row, closing the set at 2-0 Wayland.

Third set:
The third and final set started the closest, with Longmeadow taking their first lead of the game at 2-1 and continuously tying it up within the first few points. Bell had a strong spike that brought Wayland back into the lead, which they maintained for the rest of the game.

“I could say [this] for every game of his career but Finn Bell [is] just steady excellence personified,” George said.

Wayland quickly closed in on Longmeadow, bringing the lead to 12-5 after a few minutes of back and forth. Both teams scored three more points–most of which came from defensive blocks–before Bell had another kill to bring the score to 16-8. After Wayland scored once more, Longmeadow called for a timeout.

After the timeout, Longmeadow came back stronger and was able to bring the score to 18-10. Junior libero Mason Lee had a strong dig, followed by a recovered block by Engelhardt and a tap-in by Bell to put Wayland ahead 24-16. After that, sophomore Andrey Vieira was brought into the game to serve. This was Vieira’s first year on varsity, and he was the only underclassmen to play in the game.

“I was obviously nervous but I’m glad that I got the chance to experience that nervousness,” Vieira said.

For the final point, Longmeadow’s serve hit the ball out of bounds, taking Wayland to a sweeping victory of 3-0 and sending them to the final four.

“Every game is a big game at this point because we are at that period of the year where every loss sends you home,” George said. “We are lucky that we get to test ourselves against a lot of really challenging teams throughout the season, so we feel ready when we play tough teams like this.”

Waylands next game is on Tuesday, June 9, against Milford High School.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Credit: Becket Todd

Senior Finn Bell slams the ball into the Longmeadow defense.