With captains practices already underway, the boy’s volleyball team, led by captains Chris Delaurentis ’15 and Jason Bernstein ’15 look to keep the momentum rolling after an incredible 15-1 campaign. Last year, the team earned a first round bye in the state tournament as second ranked team in Connecticut. Unfortunately, their title hopes were dashed after losing three sets to none to Southington in the state semi-finals.

This season, the team has their sights set on a state championship, as the team is full of talented upperclassmen and has a slew of up and coming youngsters. Jonas Piekara ’16 is poised for a breakout varsity season and believes that the teams’ outstanding chemistry will carry them to victory this season. “The team is really connected this year,” Piekara said. “Our great chemistry translates to our style of play,” he added confidently.

Another player, Jared Himmel ’16, believes that the offseason work put in by the returning players could propel an already talented squad to the next level. “A lot of players played on club teams during the offseason and improved tremendously,” Himmel said.

Himmel also has faith in the strong leadership core on the team this year, “I expect the captains to be able to lift our team up if we fall behind.”

However, falling behind is not something that the team expects to do often. “We have a great back row and some really good hitters up front,” Himmel added.

While the team is full of accomplished players, the team is always on the lookout for new recruits. Tryouts will be held on the week of March 23 in the Staples gym for anybody interesting in playing.