GRANBY — For the first time in the history of the Granby boys volleyball program, the Rams raised a Western Massachusetts trophy last spring. Granby swept Ware 3-0, and punctuated its first-ever title with a thrilling 28-26 victory in set No. 3 – sending the team and its well-traveled crowd into a frenzy.

Only two seniors are gone from that historical team, which went 19-3 overall. Not only did the Rams return a strong contingent of players, those players also increased their workload by playing club ball throughout the offseason. Head coach Chad Gagnon, who is in his sixth season in charge, has his eyes locked on a second Western Mass. championship.

“I expect similar results to last season, honestly,” Gagnon said. “I think that although we lost a couple of really good guys, we had a few more step up. We had five guys play club [volleyball], and playing year-round has a huge impact on how well you are prepared for the season. Three of those guys hadn’t played year-round before, and I think that surely winning Western Mass. was probably part of that. It’s a big thing for a small school like us, it’s kind of something you always remember.”

Gagnon remembers when he won a Western Mass. title back during his playing days at Holyoke High School as a senior in 1993. He played for Paula Conway, who is still the Purple Knights’ coach to this day. Conway actually wrote Gagnon’s letter of recommendation when he applied for Granby’s boys volleyball head-coaching gig a half dozen years ago.

Knowing the feeling of being crowned as best of the West, Gagnon wants his group to maximize the potential and the opportunity it has.

In order to get back to the big game, the Rams will need big seasons from their captains, Jake Gagnon and Braeden Gallagher. Gagnon played the role of setter last year, as he had Michael Swanigan to dish it to on the outside. While he will still do some setting for Granby this spring, he’s expected to be the one on the receiving end of passes with Swanigan gone. Gallagher is a Swiss-army knife for the Rams. The junior can do it all. He’s a great passer, can swing from the outside and is terrific defensively (second on the team in digs in 2024).

Sophomore Nathan Walsh will step into more of a setting role for Granby, splitting that duty with Gagnon. Walsh, junior Durant Garden and junior Brandon Chatel all played club volleyball in the offseason for the first time to prepare for this season.

“We’ve talked about it, we’ve talked about our team goals and expectations,” Chad Gagnon said. “My goal is for us to make it past the first round of states, which is something we haven’t been able to do. I think as long as we stay focused and continually try to get better every single day, every single game, we can do that. We have a quality group of guys that can play together and not get hung up in anything more than what we want to accomplish.”

Serving is something Granby has excelled in over the past two seasons, and it’s something Gagnon has emphasized again so far. Jake Gagnon, Walsh, Gallagher and Daniel Santiago are just a few of the Rams’ heavy hitters from behind the service line.

Between that and their steady passing, Granby excels at the things that turn a good team into a great one.

“We still have our emphasis on serving and passing,” Chad Gagnon said. “If you can’t get past that, regardless of how good anything else is, you really don’t have a game. So we focus very heavily on that.”

Granby is 3-0 to open up the season, winning two of those matches via 3-0 sweeps. The Rams continue their 2025 slate on the road at Athol Friday night.

Belchertown returns bulk of production

The Orioles are once again playing in the very difficult East Division with teams like Frontier, Central and Longmeadow. They finished 4-16 in 2024 but have every player back except one, their setter Rainer Kristensen. Senior Colin Mullin will step into the setter spot from libero to fill Kristensen’s shoes.

Senior Noah Yankson and juniors Brian Burns and Shea MacLean are expected to have big seasons according to head coach Chris Shea, who’s in his fifth season coaching volleyball at Belchertown. 

With the amount of contributors the Orioles have back this spring, and with a roster of nine seniors, they’ll look to make it back to the Western Mass. tournament for the first time since 2021 and back to the state tournament for the first time since 2023.

Frontier

It was a bit of a down year for the Redhawks boys volleyball team – as it pertains to co-head coach Sean MacDonald’s lofty standards – last spring, as they went 8-13 and lost in the first round of both the Western Mass. and state tournaments. That broke Frontier’s streak of back-to-back Western Mass. championships (2022, 2023) after starting its program in 2022.

MacDonald and co-head coach Courtney Parent have only two members of that inaugural team, as Tavo Vincent-Warner and Will Petrin were freshmen when Frontier’s boys program began. Now as seniors, Vincent-Warner and Petrin are expected to lead the charge in their final season of high school volleyball. Will Reading is another name to watch, and Tegan Dexter and Nate Rivera are strong hitters on the outside for the Redhawks.

Frontier has some very talented pieces to return to the promised land in 2025.

Holyoke

Head coach Paula Conway is back on the sidelines once again for the Purple Knights, and she will have one of the oldest rosters in any sport in any season across Western Mass. this school year. Holyoke has 10 players on its team this spring, and all 10 of them are seniors.

The Knights dropped their first two matches of the season in heartbreaking fashion, going all five sets before falling 3-2 in both. A year ago, Holyoke went 13-7 and won the South Division title. Gedeon Ortiz and Xavier Matos each return and have taken on expanded roles after chipping in last season. Ortiz and Matos swing hard on the outside while Michael Melendez is a steady setter in the middle just as he was in 2024.

Holyoke failed to make the Western Mass. tournament last season but picked up a win in the Division 2 state tournament before a Round of 32 loss. Conway and Co. hope to get back to the postseason this spring.

No South Hadley team this spring

After putting together a boys volleyball team last spring for the first time, the Tigers didn’t have enough numbers to keep the team going in 2025. Eight of South Hadley’s 10 players a year ago were seniors, which left only two returners.