Strong final push could go far in boys volleyball bid for OSAA sanctioning

Published 1:23 pm Tuesday, May 20, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

State delegate assembly will vote in October on status of emerging activity that’s enjoying a steady growth in Southern Oregon and beyond

Entering the home stretch in the second year of a two-year run as an emerging activity in Oregon, boys volleyball finds itself teetering on an uncertain future.

In October, the Oregon School Activities Association will vote on whether to fully sanction the up-and-coming sport or keep it as an unsanctioned activity, and there are compelling reasons for each.

That’s what makes this week’s playoffs, which begin Tuesday night and culminate in state tournaments at the Class 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A/2A/1A levels Saturday and Sunday, that much more important as players, coaches and fans look to leave a strong final impression.

North Medford and South Medford face 6A playoff matches Wednesday in a 16-team bracket, while St. Mary’s will be in action Thursday in the 12-team 3A/2A/1A bracket.

North Medford players swarm Rilan Larson (15) after his set-winning kill against St. Mary’s during last Thursday’s match. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

Only eight teams at each of the 5A and 4A levels advanced to the playoffs, earning automatic quarterfinal berths to the state tournament at the Olympus Sports Center in Hillsboro. Ashland (5A), which placed third in last year’s 5A/4A tourney, and Phoenix (4A) will be among the teams competing when the other classifications venture north to join them.

Have the boys volleyball programs done enough to warrant a statewide sanctioning?

If you ask those involved here locally in boys volleyball, the answer is an absolute yes.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I feel like down here we’ve done a lot of work,” said St. Mary’s head coach Katie Miller of the progress made in Southern Oregon. “The boys have been working hard.”

“I have a JV program this year, North (Medford) has a JV program, Grants Pass-Hidden Valley co-oped to have a team this year and they also had a JV team, so it’s definitely growing,” she added, also noting the emergence of a 1A program at Rogue Valley Adventist. “I also have middle school boys playing every day in this gym with me, so it’s definitely got a bug, at least down in Southern Oregon. We’re a small section (of the state), so I know it’s hitting home up north and more boys are playing there, too. It’s pretty cool.”

A total of 68 teams and nearly 1,000 players are competing across all levels this spring, up from 52 teams and 845 players last year. The tally was 25 teams and 353 players in the spring of 2023, when the Oregon High School Boys Volleyball Association kicked into high gear and led to the recognition by the OSAA as an emerging activity.

“With the number of teams that are out there, I don’t see why they wouldn’t sanction it because it has been so big and up-and-coming for two years straight,” said North Medford head coach Angie Miller.

“We’ve got to get our youth programs going — and that would be statewide as well — and we’ve got to get space in the gym, and coaches that are willing and kids that are interested,” she added. “That’s the only pullback right now, at least down here, but once that gets going, man, it’s going to be huge. I think people are going to choose volleyball over other sports.”

The threshold for the OSAA to consider sanctioning a sport is 50 participating schools, but that doesn’t mean such figures are a guarantee.

St. Mary’s boys volleyball coach Katie Miller offers instruction to senior Reid Ravassipour, far left, during a break in action last Thursday. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

There currently is debate over whether boys volleyball should shadow girls volleyball in the fall or continue to play in the spring, which more suits the Pacific Northwest model. There are also questions on funding, resource allocations, staff workload and the talent-sharing of athletes with another option on the table.

During a recent informal conversation, Medford School District athletics and activities director Fred Kondziela noted that the district is always looking to do what it can to provide more extracurricular opportunities for its student base, but the aforementioned questions cannot be glossed over entirely.

Not becoming a sanctioned sport by the OSAA in October doesn’t mean boys volleyball would go away, mind you, it’s just that it would remain at an essentially exhibition level, much like girls wrestling for several years before it finally was sanctioned in Oregon and allowed for recognized state championships.

Girls flag football has been in its first season as an emerging activity this spring, but there was little immediate interest locally and neither of Medford’s 6A schools fielded a squad. Again, according to Kondziela, that doesn’t mean that opportunity will not be available moving forward to potential athletes should interest swell for that.

For someone like North Medford senior Calvin McGary, a 4 ½-year veteran of the sport, an increased opportunity to play boys volleyball during the school year has been a blessing.

“I’m just so happy that it’s been brought into the high school,” McGary said after the regular-season finale against St. Mary’s. “I remember freshman year, I was struggling because I had to play with the girls, and it was a whole different environment from playing with these guys.”

Katie Miller agreed that there are differences between boys volleyball and girls volleyball, and it’s well worth the time for boys to investigate that for themselves by attending a match or getting on the court themselves.

“We had a bunch of middle school boys in here cheering us on tonight, seeing what this team looks like and what this sport really looks like for boys,” she said. “It’s not the same as the girls sport, it’s different, in my opinion and a lot of people’s opinions.”

North Medford senior Calvin McGary, center, is all smiles as his teammates celebrate his kill during last Thursday’s match against St. Mary’s. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

It’s also different than the typical physical education class experience, although St. Mary’s does have a middle school P.E. class — taught by Katie Miller — that is essentially just volleyball.

“I have like 10 boys out of 39 kids in it, and these 10 boys roll in and they’re competing with eighth-grade girls that have been playing since they were in fifth grade,” she said. “They’re passing their digs and going after it, and it’s amazing to watch them go compete and recognize that it’s not just a girls sports and that they can play it.”

St. Mary’s senior Kent David produced a host of thunderous kills during the recent showdown with North Medford, which resulted in a three-way share of the Southern Region championship between those schools and Ashland.

David has been playing boys volleyball for nine years, and is also a standout contributor in boys basketball for the Crusaders. Although basketball is a more established sport throughout the state, David said volleyball is No. 1 in his heart for all it has to offer.

“As much as I love basketball, there’s a little bit of an unhealthy culture — even in just high school — where it’s the only thing you do, and if you’re not good, you don’t play,” he said. “That’s good in some regards, but you can only have fun when you win, if that makes sense. I think our (volleyball) team has found that even when we lose or are doing poorly, we can come together and still have fun playing the sport. I think that’s just the biggest difference.”

“Also, in basketball, you can have one guy and they do everything,” added David. “You see the five-star who dribbles up the floor, dunks, shoots the 3. In this sport, you can have a (Division I) guy, but if he doesn’t have the team to back him skill-wise and as a teammate emotionally, you can’t succeed.”

In terms of growth of the sport, Katie Miller pointed out the difference from last season to the current one. The experienced Crusaders essentially outclassed their opposition a year ago in earning the Class 3A/2A/1A state championship, but this season has been far from a walkover for the 12-4 squad.

St. Mary’s senior Kent David soars for a kill against North Medford. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

“My seniors have been playing with me since seventh grade, and last year we kind of blew everybody out of the water,” she said. “This year, though, that wasn’t the case. We lost a match to Ashland, we lost a match to North, we just played Phoenix and Phoenix has totally turned their program around from even the beginning of the season to now, so the skill levels are definitely growing fast. Boys pick up the sport so fast and are so darn competitive — they don’t like losing — so it’s even more incentive to work harder.”

With that said, skill level and experience didn’t seem to matter all that much last Thursday, when North Medford players competed at a high level but also found time to laugh off miscues — be it in on-court maneuvers or understanding when it was time for their rotations.

“The game of volleyball is so fast, you have no time to dwell over what just happened, you’ve gotta move on,” said the Tornado’s Angie Miller.  “It’s probably the best sport in that sense where kids can look to each other and say, ‘I’ve got the next one,’ and their teammates can say, ‘I know you do,’ and they’re right there on the same side together.”

“It is a unique sport in so many ways,” she added. “The part I really like is seeing their joy and happiness. Even after a tight loss tonight, they’re still cheering each other on and giving each other credit for all the good stuff. It’s come a long way in just two years.”

David said being a second sport for many players enables them to take the pressure off to some extent, but that can also be the case for those who may have boys volleyball as their only athletic outlet.

North Medford senior Joseph Adams, right, sheepishly exits the court as Rilan Larson comes on to replace him following a rotation mixup against St. Mary’s. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)

“A lot of these guys haven’t ever played a competitive sport in their lives, and they’re finally part of a team and they’re excited and their adrenaline is going,” said Angie Miller. “I think about all those kids out there that do play a sport that get cut from teams, too. All the basketball players at North Medford that got cut from the basketball program could be playing with me but, at the same time, they’re like it’s too new or they don’t know enough about volleyball.”

“There are enough kids who are interested in being athletic, yet don’t get the opportunities,” she added, “so I really hope and pray that this opens up another opportunity for them in that sense.”

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

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