Waltham/Weston boys volleyball looking to take big steps in 2025

The Waltham/Weston boys volleyball team has plenty to be excited about heading into the spring.

Despite a tumultuous 1-15 campaign a year ago, the squad is preparing for a major leap forward in 2025 with loads of fresh talent at its disposal. With it innovative attacking approach, the group could be a force to be reckoned with in the Dual County League.

“The outlook for this year is very optimistic,” head coach Evan Omi said. “We have some real raw talent coupled with exceptional older leadership. We are really excited to run some unique offensive systems that are a little bit nontraditional but play to our key strengths. We are looking like a really hard-working, scrappy team. This will allow us to keep balls alive during rallies and give us some opportunities to score.”

The upstart Hawks will rely on two underclassmen with high potential to take a significant step forward. Freshman Baylor Mandell and sophomore Nicholas Levy could surprise opponents with their sheer swing power.

“As we work on some decision-making and the overall mentality with them, they will be real threats to the Dual County League not only this year but in the future,” said Omi.

Mandell and Levy will have some astute veterans to help guide them along. Captains Cole Benoit and Winston Lin have brought excellent leadership to the program, helping to spread the word about the team in the offseason and encourage students to be excited about the opportunity to play volleyball in one of the more competitive regions in the country.

“They have been putting in a ton of effort in the offseason to get people involved,” Omi said. “We are still a pretty new program. They have really been putting in the work to get people prepared for the season while also being role models for what we look for in terms of work ethic and holding themselves accountable.”

Waltham/Weston will funnel its offense through the outside hitters and specifically the right side, playing to its strengths. Omi plans to put speed at the forefront of his coaching approach.

“Running a faster offense will allow us to compete with some of the taller, stronger teams,” said Omi, who also coaches at the club level for Smash Volleyball and on the women’s collegiate side for Lasell University. “We are slightly undersized in some aspects, but we are working on taking the appropriate decisions and calls in games. As we improve as a team, the smoothness and flow of our game will really improve. This will make it a little bit harder for other teams to stop us.”