The players on the 2026 edition of the Mt. Hope High School boys' volleyball team were justly rewarded for their tireless efforts this past spring by winning the Division III championship for a second consecutive season.

And similarly worthy of recognition for her contributions to the Huskies' achievements, head coach Lisa Lunney was chosen by her peers as the league's coach of the year, an honor bestowed upon her, like her squad, for a second spring in a row.

Lunney's impact on the MHHS boys' volleyball program is undeniable and quite demonstrable. Since she took over the reins of the Huskies three seasons ago, the locals have showed marked improvement and enjoyed tremendous success.

Mt. Hope went 13-4 in 2024, her first year on the bench, after going just 5-8 the season prior. The Huskies earned full qualification into the D-III postseason that spring with a berth directly into the playoff quarterfinals following a preliminary round spot in 2023.

Things swiftly came into focus in Lunney's second season, when MHHS compiled a 19-3 overall record, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the D-III playoffs then completed a run to the program's first-ever championship match appearance and the 2025 league title with a dramatic five-set victory over Portsmouth.

In 2026, and after several key contributors from the previous version of the team graduated, Lunney and Huskies equaled those exploits. MHHS again finished atop the D-III regular season standings, was the top seed in the championship tournament and ended up with another 19-3 overall record with an emphatic, 3-0 sweep of Exeter-West Greenwich to claim back-to-back trophies.

Mt. Hope players littered the 2026 list of Division III award winners, led by the league's player of the year, senior setter Dylan DeOliveira. He also was selected third team All-State and first team All-Division, the latter along with mates Matthew Moran and Dylan Shaw. Arion Ferris was selected second team All-Division and Bradley Harrington third team. DeOliveira was later chosen as the D-III championship tournament most valuable player and for the All-Tourney team with Shaw, Ferris and Jackson Gould.

Though the results were the same, the path to the championships was a bit different. Lunney mentioned this past spring the pieces to the 2025 team fell into place rather smoothly. This time around, even as the end result was the same, it took a little more jiggling to get the players to fully gel. But once they did, the Huskies rolled to second consecutive trophy.

"The boys last year were super cohesive right out of the gate, but always had their eye on the prize," Lunney, assisted this spring by Max Riker and Nate Minese, explained of the differences between the '25 and '26 clubs. "These boys came together and figured out what it took to be their best selves so we could be our best us. They really came together brilliantly and got so good at their jobs, their roles, understanding how important it was for the team's success. They were impressive."

Lunney's showing on the sideline has also been extremely impressive. She's a volleyball lifer, having played, coached and umpired the sport for decades now. Lunney was already in the process of rebuilding the MHHS girls' volleyball program as its head coach in the fall when three years ago Bristol Warren District Athletic Director Christy Belisle asked her to take over the boys' team as well.

Since, the results have shown for themselves even as Lunney is reluctant to take much of the credit. Asked about how the respect shown by her peers reflected on her performance this year, she struggled a bit to respond, instead heaping more praise on her players.

"I’m not sure how to answer that," Lunney said. "It was always about the boys. We all wanted the same thing; to make it to the end. The boys set a team goal and an individual goal. Everyone wrote win 'back-to-back.' That’s always my goal, to win it all. We wanted it, figured out what it took to get it, then worked for it. I’m super proud of this group and the program as a whole."