North Farmington sets up a spike against Rochester High School on April 7.
By: Scott Bentley | C&G Newspapers | Published April 20, 2026
METRO DETROIT — The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s inaugural season of boys volleyball is officially underway.
In 2024, the MHSAA council voted to add boys volleyball to the association’s sponsored list. The spring 2026 schedule includes the sport for the first time.
“I think it’s going well,” said North Farmington High School boys volleyball head coach Michael Love. “The boys love it. … They’re really interested in learning the game.”
The current structure of the boys volleyball league began with the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association in 2018 and had just four teams. The foundation that those league members laid has gotten the sport to where it is today in Michigan.
“We did have a structure as a club. We ran everything as if we were already a MHSAA sport. That made it a lot easier of a transition for us,” Love said. “People want to be a part of building something from the ground up … and I don’t see it dying down anytime soon.”
In 2026, with the help of the structure and formatting that the MHSAA provides, the first boys MHSAA tournament is set to have 117 different schools participating.
“When it started off, it was more ‘Let’s just have fun; just because this is something new,’” Love said. “Now the kids take it as a competitive sport and take it a little bit more seriously … because it’s still fun too.”
The first contests began in March, and the MHSAA has announced that postseason play will begin on May 26.
Boys volleyball is in its infancy in Michigan, which makes for a wide net of talent levels in year one.
“It’s pretty much gone as I expected. The first year programs are way behind anyone that has had a program for longer,” said Groves High School boys volleyball head coach Dave Schmidlin. “I told the parents we’ve got teenagers trying to play a sport, but their skill level is probably that of an 11-year-old.”
The biggest takeaway that coaches have had so far is that developing volleyball players is crucial. A lot of the student-athletes that are playing boys volleyball are prioritizing other sports due to their past development. Now that the structure is in place for the sport going forward, the hope is that boys start developing as volleyball players at younger ages.
“We need (the players), if they have younger brothers in middle school or anything like that,” Schmidlin said. “That’s where the sport has really got to grab a hold. Those kids have to want to play and go out and touch the ball before they get to high school.”
A little over a month into the season, programs all over Michigan are excited about the future of boys volleyball. In 2026, most are just hoping to have a strong and exciting finish that gains interest.
“First of all, I want to see kids come back to play (next year), because that’s the only way that the sport is going to grow,” Schmidlin said. “That initial group has to recruit more kids. … But what I’m seeing right now is really awesome.”
Participating schools have been divided into Division 1 and Division 2 with 16 total regionals, according to an MHSAA press release from April 14.
The state finals will be held on June 6 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, which is currently the host for the MHSAA girls volleyball semifinal and state final matches.
For more information, visit mhsaa.com/sports/boys-volleyball.