Come Back Effort Falls Short for Boys Volleyball

May 22, 2026
• The Rockets are 0-3 in five set games this season. 

Needham boys volleyball fell just two points short of completing a reverse sweep against Wayland, losing 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 13-15) in their regular season finale. 

Will Rozman led the Rockets with 23 kills and a block, while Finn Bell dominated for Wayland, collecting 23 kills and three blocks.

The two teams went back and forth early in the first, with neither team building a lead bigger than one until Wayland pulled ahead up 10-7, forcing a Needham timeout. The Warriors took their biggest lead of the set 19-12, before the Rockets went on a 6-2 run to pull back within three. After a Wayland timeout, the Warriors closed the set with a 4-1 run to win the set 25-19. 

Wayland jumped out to 7-3 in the second, but the Rockets stayed within two points for a majority of the set. Despite keeping it close, Needham never led in the set and lost 25-22, giving the Warriors a 2-0 match lead.

The Rockets made solid adjustments in the third, playing better defensively and finding their rhythm offensively. They built a five-point lead, but the Warriors came back to make it just a one-point deficit at 23-22. Rozman finished the set with back-to-back kills, closing the set and keeping the Rockets alive. 

Needham dominated the fourth set, leading 16-5 at one point. Wayland made it closer as the set ended but could not overcome the deficit, and the Rockets tied the game 2-2 with the 25-17 win. 

The final set went back and forth until Wayland took an 11-9 lead. Needham answered with a 4-1 run to take a 13-12 lead, but the Warriors responded with three straight points to win the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

With the loss, the Rockets finish their regular season 17-4. The MIAA will release the boys volleyball postseason brackets on Wednesday, May 26.

Watch the highlights from this game in the video box below:

The highlights above ran as part of the Needham Channel News, a weekly newscast airing on The Needham Channel every Thursday at 7:30pm. The Needham Channel News can be found on the Community Channel: Comcast 9, Astound 15 and Verizon 29. Most Thursdays it also can be viewed on our HD Channel on Verizon 2129, Astound 613 and streaming on this site.