Sports
Setter Alec Smagula positioned Brookline volleyball for title run
In a state championship on the verge of slipping away, the junior, already a three-year captain, changed the course of the match, helping top-seeded Brookline to a 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15 victory at Xaverian Brothers. “I am a setter, but I think I can play any position a coach needs me to play,” he said. […]

In a state championship on the verge of slipping away, the junior, already a three-year captain, changed the course of the match, helping top-seeded Brookline to a 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15 victory at Xaverian Brothers.
“I am a setter, but I think I can play any position a coach needs me to play,” he said. “A good setter can do everything. They can play defense, they can block, they can get kills, and that’s why I think I’m a good setter.”
Smagula, a libero at SMASH Volleyball Club who is also in the beach volleyball national team development program, made plays in serve-receive as well, keeping the Warriors (23-1) alive in close second and third sets.
As a left-handed setter, he was able to dump the ball with force when he saw the opportunity.
Even Brookline’s first-year coach Lexi De La Cruz said the team’s first title win since 1992 wouldn’t have been possible without Smagula.
“I think Alec was the MVP of today,” he said. “We have great weapons, but he was just able to run a really great game. We couldn’t have done it without him, so the hard work he did all year showed up in today’s final.”
Senior Kris Vaivars has been playing with Smagula for three years, and the duo has an immaculate setter-hitter connection. It was crucial to the win that Vaivars could hit at the net and from the back row, and Smagula found the right times to set him. He racked up 24 kills.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Vaivars said. “I know he trusts me. We have that connection.”
With one more year ahead, Smagula has even more opportunity to grow, not just as a player, but as one of the state’s best all-around players and a leader of a defending champion.
“He has a huge impact,” Vaivars said. “He’s one of the best defenders in the state … He’s an offensive weapon, and because of that, it makes it so much easier for us to win rallies and score points.”
AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com. Follow him on X @aj_traub and Instagram @ajt37. Alexa Podalsky can be reached at alexa.podalsky@globe.com.