For years, boys volleyball was not considered an official Virginia High School League (VHSL) sport due to a lack of interest in schools around the county. Players fought hard for the inclusion of the sport into the league, and this year, the addition of the sport has had a major impact on many students.
“In my opinion, the more things we have after school, the better for all of our students,” Director of Student Activities Greg Miller said.
Previously, boys volleyball was unaffiliated with the school, and the players who were apart of the community team fought hard for its inclusion in the VHSL.
“For boys volleyball to become a high school sport we would go to school board meetings and argue for it,” senior outside hitter Brennan Lengel said. “We also would get signatures to support it becoming a sport.”
This year, McLean’s boys volleyball team has dominated from the start, so far undefeated in their matches. The sport has opened up opportunities for the players, as they were never able to showcase their talent to a crowd before this school year.
“As the captain, I’m loving the team,” senior outside hitter Luke Cowan said. “I get to play the sport I love and play it well in front of friends and family.”
With a roster of 12 players, the team has been a threat to the league, and the idea of district, regional and state championships is a real possibility for the Highlanders. Their confidence is driven by their repetitive success, and the team has gained major support from McLean’s students and staff.
“With the seniors at least, a lot of people are happy seeing us undefeated,” Cowan said. “The season has been going extremely well.”
Unlike many other sports, there was no real existing roster to build on. Last year, there was an unofficial roster, consisting of several of this year’s players; however, most of the team walked into a completely new environment, having to learn to work with people they had never played with before. Fortunately, the team quickly learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses and built a strategy to work smoothly together, while simultaneously gaining a strong team camaraderie that enables their accomplishments.
“The team atmosphere is really good,” Lengel said. “We are able to work with the people who haven’t played as much while still making it competitive for the older people.”
The sport has been an impactful addition to McLean, and the school has high hopes for the future of the boys volleyball program, which has already proven themselves to be a determined and hardworking team.
“They’re really good athletes,” Miller said. “They support each other, and it’s a fun time watching them being together and being a team.”
