LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) met to discuss a draft for its 2025 playing calendar. This schedule features a few newly sanctioned high school sports, including boys' volleyball.
“The board did their first reading this past meeting about when that season would start, when it would end, when practice could start, and the number of matches,” said KHSAA Associate Commissioner Butch Cope. “They’re getting feedback from schools, and then in July, we hope to firmly adopt those dates and make them official and get them out to schools.”
The process was set in motion a handful of years ago when local high schools began putting together club volleyball teams. KHSAA needed at least 15% of its member schools to agree to field a team to show there is enough interest to sanction a sport. Last spring, they finally had enough support to officially sanction boys’ volleyball.
“It just took a lot of reaching out to schools, trying to get teams to commit,” said Matt Stegman, head coach of the Lafayette High School boys’ team.
Keith Stowe, head coach at West Jessamine High School, added, “I did not think it was going to happen as soon as it did.”
The decision is exciting for both coaches and players.
“I was really excited and happy,” said Lafayette setter Sammy DeBilzan. “It’s cool how I started here with the first year. Now, since my fourth year, we finally made that push for it to be an actual sport.”
Sammy is a senior on the team. While he will be playing volleyball at Barton College in North Carolina, he believes this move will benefit his younger teammates and future volleyball players.
“I hope for the future, it just keeps growing from here now that it’s an official sport,” he said. “I think they’re going to get much better, and the competition is only going to go higher, and that’s going to lead to more attraction for the game.”
Coach Stegman echoed this sentiment, “Hopefully this will get some more skills established at the younger level so that we’re able to hit the ground running a little bit faster once they get up to high school. That just does more for the game and allows us to compete at a higher level.”
For parents and students who are interested in playing volleyball, Coach Stegman encourages them to contact schools about what participation in boys’ volleyball will look like.
