Every Saturday morning, it’s the same calculated and intentional routine.

Stretch. Laps. Rotate between four high-intensity stations – core, weights, stairs and jump ropes – for an hour. And then, after the Lowell boys volleyball team is good and tired, the Red Raiders get to the volleyball.

Knowing the battles the tight Merrimack Valley Conference presents on a nightly basis, longtime head coach Paul McCarthy and assistant coach Brandon Seng emphasize the exhaustion players will face in fourth and fifth sets, and the need to be able to deliver through it. The Red Raiders didn’t enter the season as the reigning MVC champs for the first time in two years, and they wanted to take the title back. Every match mattered.

Well, despite graduating 14 seniors and starting an entirely different unit with little varsity experience, Lowell (16-2) edged Methuen and Chelmsford to do just that. The revolving door of rock fights in the MVC forced the Red Raiders to at least a fourth set in 11 of its 18 games, and they fought off fatigue with a 9-2 mark.

Junior standout setter Vitou Seng – who Brandon Seng credits as the central stabilizing force – feels those Saturday practices are the X-factor for them this year. Sophomore standout libero Logan Uy echoes that by attributing the success to the hard work in every practice.

The proof is in the pudding.

“It’s a breath of fresh air for me,” McCarthy said. “These kids have put so much enthusiasm into their work. They just love the game, they feed off of that. It’s great to see them (commit). Saturday morning practices are not (easy), and they’ve had good attendance all year long. They’ve made the commitment to the program.”

The Lowell boys volleyball team celebrates a 3-0 win over Westford Academy. The Red Raiders went on to win the MVC. (James Thomas for the Lowell Sun)

There was plenty of chatter in the area over the offseason about how vulnerable Lowell would be this year, having just four seniors – two in the rotation – and significantly little returning varsity experience. McCarthy, who always puts a great respect and admiration on the challenge of winning the MVC, even said in the preseason that Lowell could be headed to a total rebuild this year. Losing 14 seniors is quite a turnover.

Needless to say, he’s been pleasantly surprised – and proud.

After a five-set loss to Div. 1 threat Cambridge, Lowell didn’t drop a set over the next four games. Against a loaded Chelmsford group that entered the year as the MVC favorite, the Red Raiders took the match in four. Three games later against Methuen, they overcame a 2-1 deficit to edge out a 3-2 win, bolstered by a 30-28 fourth set. They won 13 straight games up until Chelmsford took a match back on May 14, but a 3-1 win over Methuen two games later avoided a three-team tie and sealed the highly-coveted title.

“We kind of took the (rebuild narrative) to heart, so we kept practicing every day,” said Vitou Seng. “We used it as motivation. … We kept striving, we never gave up. We just kept fighting.”

“We knew (we could do it) since the beginning of the season,” Uy added. “We knew who we were going up against, we knew what we had to do to beat those teams. … Just working hard every single practice.”

Filling in the shoes of graduated All-Scholastic setter Tyrell Lout at setter was a tall task, but Vitou Seng – who got a little time behind him last year on varsity – has excelled with 32.8 assists per game (591 total). Uy has gotten the ball to him effectively with 36.3 digs per game (654 total), which Seng has dispersed among a deep lineup of hitters.

Sophomore Aundre Rivera has stood out with a team-best 11.9 kills per game (215 total) this year, as well as 16.4 digs (295 total). Seniors Ian Mao (168 kills, 212 digs) and Gianni Rodriguez (131 kills) are right behind him, while middles Angel So (41 blocks) and Bobby Pappaconstantinou (39 blocks) have led the defense at the net – along with Seng (21 blocks).

Brandon Seng said after the first win over Methuen that these players just wanted to write their own story in the program’s decorated lore, and to prove themselves.

They’ve been preparing for this even well before this year, through countless hours of pick-up volleyball and the junior varsity program.

“For this group to go where they have at this age is how we take our time and coach the JV team,” Brandon Seng said. “We treat them as one, not as two different programs. That’s how I feel like these guys were ready to go. … And once they experienced the winning (at the varsity level), it was just contagious.”

Unity has been at the heart of this year, too, throughout the entire program.

“For these guys to pick it up as a new core together is really impressive,” Brandon Seng said. “They have the same mindset and goal. It’s tough to get eight to 10 guys to have the same mindset, that want to win, that want to do good. And they push each other every day.”

“I think we’re all on the same page because we all want to win state’s,” Vitou Seng added. “Last year, we went to state’s but we lost to Brookline. This is a major factor because all of us were on JV just watching … (knowing) this is where we’re going to be (this) year.”

Lowell was only ranked No. 12 in the last set of MIAA Div. 1 power rankings before tournament pairings drop on Tuesday, but there’s a state-wide belief that the path to at least the state quarterfinals is parity-ridden.

The Red Raiders already proved themselves once. They’re excited for the challenge of doing it again.

One Cleary to another

Until graduating last year, former star outside hitter Mason Cleary was instrumental in helping lift the BC High program to new heights.

Younger brother Ben Cleary has followed suit.

By notching 26 kills on Friday, Ben snapped Mason’s single-season kills record (304) – reaching 321 with the state tournament still on the horizon. Ben became the fastest in program history to reach 500 career kills, anchoring an 11-7 group with potential to make some noise in the tourney.

“He’s transitioned into a full-time six rotation outside hitter and has really stepped up his offensive production,” said BC High head coach James Chen. “He puts the team on his back in every big moment – leading by example. You can see his passion for the game and how he wants the team to succeed.”

Rosa making mark with Whalers

New Bedford head coach Ben Kaeterle felt in the preseason that his group could have a special year with all the growth and experience it returned from a 21-1 season last year.

Nick Rosa is one of the central figures Kaeterle referred to, and the outside hitter has soared within an 18-2 mark against a stronger schedule. His 500th career kill came in a 3-0 sweep of Barnstable to avenge a surprising earlier loss, and now his 626 career kills are 37 away from breaking the longtime program’s all-time mark.

The Whalers ended the regular season on an 11-game win streak, which Rosa has led the attack within on just about a nightly basis.

“(Rosa) has been a go-to hitting option (and) has developed into a composed and mature volleyball player,” Kaeterle said. “He’s freakishly athletic and taken his overall game to the next level this year – front row and back row.”