Consider what’s characterized much of the last few years in boys volleyball.

Needham’s dynasty. Westfield’s dynasty. Western Mass.’ surge. Wayland’s surge. A loaded Bay State Conference. New leagues showcasing success. A whole lot of parity.

Those fingerprints were all over this spring, too. And yet, this season reached a rare, historic level to admire.

Brookline’s junior setter Alec Smagula spoke confidently about the heights his Warriors could reach when he was just a freshman, declaring them underrated all the way through a Cinderella run to the Div. 1 Final Four in 2023. Two years later, senior outside hitter Kris Vaivars set the program’s all-time kills record as arguably the state’s top player, pairing with Smagula’s mastery as a do-it-all setter to anchor Brookline’s emotional run to its first Div. 1 state title since 1992.

Star power, depth and versatility were the bones of a sparkling, 23-1 year. But the program’s passion – shown through its contagious energy all the way down the bench – was the heart in a rare year for Brookline.

Needham may not have won another state title, but the dynasty is alive and well in perhaps one of its more impressive runs. The Rockets had a very new rotation this year, and a much different look from the star power that fueled its unbeaten three-peat from 2021 to 2023. But defensive tenacity improved throughout the year, rising to its pinnacle to upset Natick in the state semifinals for a fifth straight appearance in the Div. 1 state final.

By all measures, the Bay State Conference has been formidable for years. Between Brookline, Newton North and Needham, it’s had representatives win each of the last five Div. 1 state finals. Though, never in the power rankings era – or possibly ever – had any conference claimed all four spots in one Final Four in any MIAA sport. Brookline, Needham, Natick and Newton North changed that.

The latter two were right in the mix as worthy potential champions themselves, and all four were dominant over the rest of the division. The lone exception was Lexington, who proved tough in one of the program’s best years with a personal record 17-game win streak.

Regardless, what the BSC’s power-four produced was rare. Almost as rare was how tight much of the rest of the field played out.

Last year’s parity had us on our toes with how the whole tournament would unfold, only for it to follow the chalk up until No. 2 Newton North beat No. 1 Needham in the state final. But this year, the first round alone produced more upsets than each of the previous three whole tournaments combined.

Barnstable felt a massive emotional lift with a win over New Bedford in the regular season. Taunton got the same when it split with Milford to share the brand-new Hockomock League title. Both went from needing preliminary-round wins to upsetting their way to the state quarterfinals as the 26th and 27th seeds – the two lowest seeds to reach that far in the sport. And beside them, Milford, Weymouth and St. John’s of Shrewsbury also shook off their sub-20 seeding to advance at least once in an all-time showing of parity.

Part of such a wild tournament stemmed from a level playing field. The major driver, though, was the first year the MIAA’s power rankings system seemed to miss the mark – which had been spot on in the other three tournaments.

That didn’t carry over to Div. 2, which saw all eight of its top seeds reach the state quarterfinals.

Wayland was hungry all year to avenge its reverse-sweep loss in the 2024 state finals to Westfield. Premier outside hitter Finn Bell anchored an otherwise deep group to reach the title game for the second straight year – exorcising the Warriors’ demons by beating the Bombers in the state semifinals. Yet, powers out of Western Mass. once again forced Wayland one win shy of the program’s first title.

Top-ranked Agawam looked like a wagon all year, only losing once; when star setter David Dzhenzherukha missed a regular season game against Chicopee Comprehensive. Otherwise, a deep crew of standout pins surrounded Dzhenzherukha for one of the state’s top attacks, and its defense shined in the final to secure its second state title in three years.

Afterward, head coach Kevin Pender had much to say about the strength of Western Mass., and the pride that comes with the growth the area has shown.

By taking the title, Agawam and Westfield have traded Div. 2 state championships over the four years since the sport expanded to two divisions. West Springfield rose up to nearly knock off the Brownies in the state semifinals, and six of those top-eight teams to reach the state quarterfinals hail from the region.

Five teams from the West had reached the stage in 2024, and only three did in 2023

(All times Eastern)

Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts

Sunday, June 22

AUTO RACING

7:30 a.m.

FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy, Tuscany, Italy

10 a.m.

FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

11 a.m.

FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: The Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Noon

CBS — ABB FIA Formula-E: The Jakarta Grand Prix – Round 12, North Jakarta, Indonesia (Taped)

NBC — IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The Saleh’s Six Hours of Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

1:30 p.m.

FOX — NTT IndyCar Series: The Xpel Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

2 p.m.

FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va. (Taped)

PRIME VIDEO — NASCAR Cup Series: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

4 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MX2, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

FOX — NHRA: The Virginia NHRA Nationals, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va.

5 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MXGP, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

1 p.m.

CBSSN — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

3 p.m.

CW — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

BIG3 BASKETBALL

1 p.m.

CBS — Week 2: Detroit Amps vs. Miami 305, Boston Ball Hogs vs. DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands vs. Chicago Triplets, L.A. Riot vs. Dallas Power, Baltimore

COLLEGE BASEBALL

2:30 p.m.

ABC — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb.

ESPNU — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb. (UmpCast)

GOLF

1 p.m.

GOLF — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

3 p.m.

CBS — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Kaulig Companies Championship, Final Round, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio

NBC — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Final Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas

HORSE RACING

12:30 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

2 p.m.

FS2 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

4 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

LACROSSE (MEN’S)

Noon

ABC — PLL: Utah vs. Denver, Baltimore

MLB BASEBALL

1:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Texas at Pittsburgh (1:35 p.m.) OR Atlanta at Miami (1:40 p.m.)

4:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Kansas City at San Diego (4:10 p.m.) OR Boston at San Francisco (4:05 p.m.)

7 p.m.

ESPN — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia

ESPN2 — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia (StatCast)

NBA BASKETBALL

8 p.m.

ABC — NBA Finals: Indiana at Oklahoma City, Game 7

SOCCER (MEN’S)

3 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

7 p.m.

FOX — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: U.S. vs. Haiti, Group D, Arlington, Texas

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Saudi Arabia vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Group D, Las Vegas

9 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

10 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, Group A, Las Vegas

FS2 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Dominican Republic vs. Suriname, Group A, Arlington, Texas

SOCCER (WOMEN’S)

10 p.m.

CBSSN — NWSL: Washington at San Diego

SOFTBALL

7 p.m.

ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Talons vs. Volts, Norman, Okla.

TENNIS

6 a.m.

TENNIS — London-ATP, Halle-ATP, Berlin-WTA, Nottingham-WTA Finals

11:30 a.m.

TENNIS — Bad Hoburg-WTA Early Rounds

5:30 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

6 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)

10:30 a.m.

CBSSN — FIVB Nations League Pool Play: France vs. U.S., Pool 6, Belgrade, Serbia

WNBA BASKETBALL

3 p.m.

ESPN — Indiana at Las Vegas

7 p.m.

NBATV — New York at Seattle

A victory over Germany in 32 minutes, another over Greece after five wins and five losses – this is the performance of the young Montenegrin water polo players at the World Championship in Zagreb.

It seems too little, but in water polo it’s enough for sixth place on the planet.

The young sharks’ disappointing performance on the Sava River ended with another defeat, and again a convincing one – this time against Serbia (20:14) in the game for 5th place.

Our guys held on until the end of the second quarter when it was 9:8 for their rivals, and then the flood followed. Serbia dominated until the end and deservedly won.

Danilo Stupar was the most enthusiastic player in the team led by Aleksandar Aleksić with six goals – three scored by Srđan Janović, one each by Draško Samardžić, Radivoj Radanović, Ivan Marković, Tim Perov and Meldin Hadžić.

In goal, Andrija Bjelica had nine saves, and Danilo Rajević had one.

The young water polo players finished the group stage of the World Championship with defeats to Hungary (18:10), Croatia (15:14) and the United States (16:10). In the first match of the knockout stage for a place in the quarterfinals, they defeated Germany (11:10), while in the fight for the semifinals they had no chance against Spain (23:9).

Yesterday, they defeated Greece in the playoff for 5th to 8th place after a penalty shootout, and today they put an end to the championship with another defeat.

Too little for a team that played in the final of the European Championship last year and won bronze at the World Championship. Regardless of the fact that two important assets were missing – Strahinja Gojković and Balša Vučković, who were added to the senior national team.

News

NEW ORLEANS – Texas Tech track and field assistant throws coach Cliff Felkins was named the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year, the organization announced Friday afternoon.

Felkins’ crew at Big 12 Championships accounted for 31 points as Shelby Frank won the hammer and discus competition. Under his tutelage, Frank went on to set new personal bests in the hammer and discus at the NCAA Championships last weekend as she placed second in the hammer and third in the discus. Overall, Frank scored 14 of Tech’s 22 points. In addition, Zoe Burleson finished 13^th in the discus last weekend.

This outdoor season, Felkins coached the No. 1 discus squad in the country with four Red Raiders combining for an average mark of 58.40m (191-7).

The regional honor is the fourth of Felkins’ career and first since 2016.

2025 All-CIF San Diego Section boys volleyball team

Player of the Year: Roman Payne, Carlsbad

The 7-foot senior led Carlsbad to the San Diego Section Open Division championship, posting 17 kills and five blocks in a five-set win over Cathedral Catholic. The Lancers finished the season 35-3 after losing to Corona del Mar in the Southern California Regionals. Payne, who also played basketball, finished the season with 426 kills, 162 blocks, 78 digs and 40 aces. A member of the U.S. Boys National Team that won the gold medal in the 2024 NORCECA Continental Cup, Payne will play collegiately at Hawaii.

Libero of the Year: Gavin Spiess, Classical Academy

Coach of the Year: Marissa Ritchie, Mater Dei Catholic

First team

Name, School, Year

Roman Payne, Carlsbad, Sr.

Derrick Bashford, Carlsbad, Sr.

Bjorn Hawe, Torrey Pines, Sr.

Griffin Dieter, Torrey Pines, So.

Gavin Spiess, Classical Academy, Sr.

Dane Roblee, Classical Academy, Sr.

Owen Adams, St. Augustine, Sr.

Cody Krohn, Mission Vista, Sr.

Henry Garewal, Canyon Crest Academy, Sr.

Miles Custer, Francis Parker, Jr.

Lathan Fry, Granite Hills, Sr.

Second team

Name, School, Year

Andrew Chen, Canyon Crest Academy, Sr.

Justin Zhang, Canyon Crest Academy, Sr.

Will Bartelt, Del Norte, Sr.

Oskar Manguy, Mater Dei Catholic, Sr.

Gabe Tocco, Clairemont, Sr.

Lucas Chapman, Classical Academy, Sr.

Ben Soudak, Torrey Pines, Sr.

Tommy Branson, Cathedral Catholic, Sr.

Giles Beamer, Bishop’s, Jr.

Ben Sauerwine, Carlsbad, Jr.

Note: Team based on vote of Coaches Advisory Committee.

Originally Published: June 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM PDT