Captains make sure young Marlbough boys' volleyball team getting back on track
Under second-year head coach Chris Lowe, the Marlborough boys' volleyball team recently won two straight matches over North and Wachusett.
“We’re 5-6 now and hopefully on our way to getting our record back to .500,” said Lowe, who said his squad is young and fairly inexperienced, but making great strides this spring.
“We have good days and bad days, but overall when we’re at our best, we can play with some really good teams,” Lowe added.
The Panthers are led by junior captains Luiz Bernardes, a setter, Gui Garcia, a middle, and sophomore outside hitter Declan McCarthy.
“The captains have been great leaders for us this season, and they’ll be back next year,” praised Lowe.
Other key players include Sam SSempa, a junior server, who was awarded the game ball after the North victory, senior outside hitter Will Calderon, whose passion for the game has inspired his younger teammates, and junior Gabriel Silva, terrific at any position and described by Lowe as the heart and soul of the team and a real impact player.
Lowe’s volleyball roots date to his high school days in upstate New York at Burnt Hills Balston Lake near Saratoga where his mentor was baseball and girls’ volleyball coach Gary Bynon, a local legend who is still coaching.
“Coach Bynon’s teams went over 30 years without losing a single regular season volleyball match,” said Lowe, who, as a seventh-grader, became a manager on Bynon’s baseball team, fostering his love for sports.
Lowe, 35, went on to major in sports management at Endicott College, interned with the Boston Celtics and New York Mets and worked for Stub Hub for three years, getting the opportunity to attend Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup games.
He then earned his Masters degree in secondary education and is now in his sixth year teaching history in Marlborough, currently at the 10th grade level.
“I began teaching in the middle school in Marlborough, and it’s been great because I had many of my current high school volleyball players as students when they were younger,” he said.
“We have a special group of kids on this team, and win or lose, we’re making some great Marlborough volleyball memories this year,” said Lowe.
—Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Captains help Marlborough boys' volleyball team get back on course
