Medford boys volleyball bounce back with state tourney bid

Bump, set, spike.

The Medford High boys volleyball team plans to put that mantra to good use this week, as they storm into state tournament play.

Fresh off a 10-6 regular season run, the No. 27 seeded Mustangs are slated to face No. 28 Bay Path Regional Vocational Tech (18-2), in preliminary round action of the MIAA Division 1 bracket, Wednesday, May 28 at 5 p.m.

The winner will earn the right to face No. 5 Lexington (18-2), in first round action later in the week.

“We are pumped,” said Medford coach Peter Stefanopoulos, in his first year at the helm.

According to senior co-captain Leo Fixson, making the postseason was always the objective.

“We’re really excited,” said Fixson. “We’re ready to fight and leave it all on the court. We have a lot of seniors that want to keep playing as long as possible and push ourselves deeper into the tournament. I think we’re ready.”

A battle-tested bunch, the Mustangs certainly earned their stripes. The team has overcome adversity at seemingly every turn since entering the varsity arena four years ago. This will be just their second postseason appearance, bowing out to Algonquin, 3-1, in the 2023 prelims.

Leading the way for the Mustangs are senior co-captains Fixson and Fionnbhar MacEachern. The pair have led by example, fronting a steady group of rising stars, including sophomore standout Will Travers.

“Will is unreal,” said Stefanopoulos. “From last year to this year he’s made a huge jump. He plays volleyball year-round with club teams and has gotten really good.”

Freshman Libero Gabriel Sousa has been the Mustangs unsung hero, doing everything he can to help the club succeed. Meanwhile seniors Zach Marsh, Nick Martins and Pedro Dias, have developed into clutch performers up the middle.

“Anytime we needed a point this year they’re always there,” said Stefanopoulos.

Junior Andrew Moreira has also shown tremendous growth as the Mustang’s setter.

“Andrew took over as a setter during the season and has been unbelievable,” said Stefanopoulos. “He’s been hustling and making plays.”

Role playing sophomores Victor Mendes, Ngawang Wangdu, Igor dos Reis, Luiz DePaula, Cassidy Collins and Shopnil Barua, round out the cast. The group has stabilized the roster in place of injured teammates sophomore David Lam and junior Pedro Fane. 

“It’s been a really good mix of guys just stepping up,” said Stefanopoulos. “Our leaders are assuming their captaincy roles, being the best guy on the floor for us at different times with other guys stepping up.”

The Mustangs punched their state tourney ticket with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Chelsea. It was a nice return to form after enduring a four-win season the year before.

A bounce-back win over Lynn Classical in the middle of the season seemed to set the tone. Key victories over Somerville, Everett and a pair over Lynn English followed, keeping the team’s spirits high.

“I think we’re doing really well right now,” said Fixson, 17, a four-year letterman that has been with the team since its inception.  “We had a bit of a rough start. Our program in general has struggled a lot for the last two years, because we haven’t had a consistent coach or even a consistent program. Every year we’ve been questioning if we’d even have a team or not.”

A 6-foot-1, 160-pound West Medford native, Fixson helped lead the team through the various transitions.

“The program basically ended after my sophomore year after losing our coach,” said Fixson. “We had a parent-coach step in, just so we could have a team. This year was also very last-minute as to who our coach was going to be. So the past two years, I’ve been sort of a player/coach along with some of the other student-athletes.  It’s been fun, but also difficult in a lot of ways.”

Despite the inner turmoil, these Mustangs have managed to weather the storm taking third place in the Greater Boston League standings. As of last check, Medford was ranked 39^th out of 62 teams in the MIAA D1 power rankings.

“We have a lot of players that are really driven,” said Fixson. “Our team isn’t always the most consistent, but there’s a lot of fight in us. It took us a while to figure each other out. But once we got together, we started to work really well and fought together as a team.”

Medford enters the state tourney determined to make the most of their opportunities, much like they have all year.

“I didn’t really set any expectations,” said Stefanopoulos. “It’s been a lot of fun. Great success for the kids and the program itself. Just a lot of good vibes, and the winning never hurts.”