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The Winchester High boys volleyball team is 9-8, and with three home matches left on the regular season schedule – Belmont (May 15, 5:15 p.m.), Arlington (May 18, 5:15 p.m.) and non-league Cambridge (May 20, 5:45 p.m.) – they need just one more win to get to the postseason.
It’s been a seesaw season, but Coach John Fleming’s crew has avoided losing streaks by simply putting a loss quickly behind them.
Against host Lexington on May 8, it was just a case of losing to a “very talented team,” according to Fleming, who added, “they have a deep roster with plenty of athleticism and skill. I thought we hung tough in the first two sets (with the exception of) a few rough stretches.”
The Red & Black continued to battle hard in the third set. At one point, the match was tied at 21, but after that the visitors made “a few too many mistakes down the stretch to keep the match going,” said the veteran coach, who remained optimistic with these parting words: “I think that (effort against a very good club) was a sign of good things to come.”
His words were prophetic right away on May 12, when they dropped a close 3-2 home decision to a solid Acton-Boxborough squad.
The Winchester boys won both of their meetings (on April 6 and May 5) against Burlington this year by identical 3-1 scores.
The Red Devils jumped out to an early lead in each match, but the Red & Black were able to fight back to secure the wins. In their most recent encounter against Burlington, they were able to get back on the winning track after two straight losses.
One of those losses was against non-league host Newton South on May 4, 3-1. The home team came into the match shorthanded, and Winchester was able to take advantage of it in the first set.
“We were able to dominate the first set, but after that they were able to make some adjustments to wipe out that advantage,” said Fleming. “We then struggled with their size up front.”
Fleming understands that a win in that match would have been huge, considering that Newton South is a Top 10 team in the state.
In the match at Woburn on May 1, the host Tanners were able to escape with a 3-2 win.
“Woburn really came to play, and give them credit, they truly deserve this win,” said Fleming. “They were a much-improved team since we shut them out on April 2, 3-0. They really cut down on their unforced errors. While we stayed with them throughout the match (on the scoreboard), we didn't stay composed (long) enough to earn the win.”
The Winchester boys traveled to Arlington on April 29, and came away with a 3-2 triumph.
“We played one of our best matches of the year here (against the Spy Ponders),” said Fleming. “It went back and forth against a good team, before we really found our groove in the fourth set, which carried us into the fifth set to get the win. I really loved our mental toughness in this match.”
In the annual ALS Spring Break Invitational, the Red & Black played 10 sets in two days on April 23 and 24. They dropped a close 3-2 decision to Boston’s O’Bryant High School on the first day of competition, before rebounding nicely to beat St. John’s of Shrewsbury in the consolation match, 3-2.
“This event continues to raise awareness for ALS, which we will continue next week against (visiting) Arlington on May 18 (5:15 p.m.) in our ‘Spike Out ALS’ match,” said Fleming.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
