MIAA Volleyball: Franklin Seeks Repeat; Bellingham and PVU Stay Undefeated

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association released seedings for its girls’ volleyball tournaments on Monday. A total of 191 teams compete across five divisions this season.

Franklin enters Division 1 as the No. 5 seed, matching its placement from the 2025 championship run. The Panthers won the title last year despite entering the bracket as a five-seed. They have not repeated the feat of graduating a Globe Player of the Year and winning back-to-back titles; the last school to do so was Newton North in 2022 with Abigail Wright.

Franklin’s path to a title may lead to Conrad Gymnasium in North Chelmsford. That is the site of the Panthers’ only regular season loss to a Division 1 opponent last year. Their potential hosts, the North Chelmsford Lions, are seeded No. 4. The Lions have lost just one regular season matchup in the past two seasons.

The Middlesex League restructured its format this year, resulting in high seedings for its members. Winchester is ranked No. 3 in Division 1. Reading holds the No. 2 seed in Division 2. Melrose, Woburn, Wakefield, and Burlington also earned top-13 seeds in Division 2. Oliver Ames won Division 2 last year with a junior core. That same group will face Reading’s trio of junior hitters if they meet in the final.

Division 3 features Bellingham, the only undefeated defending champion in the state. East Bridgewater leads Division 4 as the defending champion. Pioneer Valley Christian heads Division 5 as the only undefeated team in that bracket. Hopedale received a 22-seed, the lowest ranking assigned to a 2025 champion.