5 big questions as Berkshire County volleyball season begins

The volleyball season starts today for most of Berkshire County and coming off a successful 2025, there are some big questions to be answered. Will another Berkshire County program make the Final Four after Lenox broke through last season? How will Lenox, Wahconah, Taconic, Lee and even Pittsfield High reload after the graduation of some big senior classes?

The biggest takeaway from the volleyball jamboree was how different so many programs in the county appear to be. Mount Greylock and Lee both have new coaches for the first time in over eight years as Julia Warner (Lee) and Greg Geyer (Greylock) have stepped down after highly successful runs. Lenox coaches Anna and Emma Nealon only stayed for 2025, helping guide Lenox to a Western Mass. title and the Final Four, but are now off, too.

Greylock will be led by Faith Wehner, a former Wahconah standout who was an assistant for Geyer last year. Lee will be led by Isiah Cole while Karalynn Hopkins is coaching Lenox. She was a standout at Lee and graduated in the spring of 2025, before coaching the Lenox JV team in the fall of last year. Now just a couple years removed from her time on the court, she'll be coaching the Millionaires. Monument Mountain has a new/old coach with Kyle Henry returning to lead the Spartans.

Last year Lenox went 9-1 in Berkshire League play, its only loss in the regular season coming in a 5-setter against Mount Greylock. Of course, the Millionaires downed the Mounties to win the Class C title and then went on to the MIAA Division V Final Four.

They also graduated six seniors and five key pieces of their rotation. Still, the preseason prognostication is that Lenox has a lot of returning talent so don't overlook what it can do this year with a very manageable schedule.

Greylock might be the team to watch, however, as the Mounties matriculated out just one senior. Like Hopkins, Wehner is new to being a head coach and both will have some learning to do. But Greylock improved greatly as last season went on and the Mounties look primed to return to form in 2026.

Wahconah and Taconic both graduated a lot of their respective starting lineups so how either team is able to reload will be a question. Although both have veteran coaches in Dave Lussier for Wahconah and Lance Fyfe for Taconic.

The Generals went 7-12 last year with two wins of those wins coming against Monument and another two coming against winless Drury in its first year as a program. Pittsfield High has the numbers and some talented players but the Berkshire League will give no quarter. PHS begins its season with a bang, hosting city rival Taconic tonight at 6 p.m. Last season the two split the season series, which was the only league win PHS recorded. If the Generals are looking to take that leap, a win over Taconic would go a long way to helping them do so.

As for Monument, the Spartans started 2025 on a tear with a 10-4 record. But injuries and some misfortune had Monument lose six straight to end the season and the team opted out of the state tournament. Henry has experience leading Monument and the Spartans have a solid schedule to improve upon last year's results. Whether or not Monument can make it back to the state tournament is the big question.

Greylock and Lenox have owned Class C the last three years and both teams figure to be favorites once more. Wahconah has made it to back-to-back Class B finals, winning in 2024 and losing in 2025. Lee made the Class D final in 2024 and lost a tight semifinal last season.

East Longmeadow figures to be a power in Class B after beating Wahconah and winning the Class B title last season but it will graduate seven seniors. Taconic was the sixth seed last season and upset a strong Baystate team to face No. 2 Wahconah in the semifinals, a game that Wahconah won, 3-1. It's well within the realm of possibility that we'll see both teams in the Class B mix.

Greylock could be a power this season, with six seniors on the roster like Sophia Cook, Anna Garnish and Kimora Melanson. Not to mention juniors Olivia Perez and Tyanna Lepicier. That Greylock was so young last season and still made the Class C final should be a strong indication that the Mounties are ready to reclaim their throne.

Don't write Lenox off either. The Millionaires bring back big some key players in Evelyn Julieano and Sara Isby. Add in a few new players and the Millionaires should be a threat in Class C.

The Blue Devils had their first season as a program in 2025 as a co-op with Hoosac Valley. Understandably, Drury took its lumps not winning a game. But the team showed progress over the course of the season and had some narrow losses and plenty of numbers.

Coach Morgan Shafer should have plenty of players in Year 2 including four seniors who aren't brand new to volleyball. Officially an independent, Drury plays a heavy Berkshire schedule with PHS, Taconic, Lee, Monument, Mount Everett, Lenox and Greylock on deck. Mohawk Trail and Turners Falls loom as intriguing out of county matchups, too.

On a similar note, Everett won just one game last season and the Eagles figure to have quite a bit of youth in starting roles this season, too. There are winnable games on the schedule and the matchup against Drury should be a fun contest between either sides of the county down in Sheffield.