Two boys helped a Massachusetts high school girls’ volleyball team to a state championship victory this past weekend.

The Oliver Ames High School (the public high school of the town of Easton) girls' volleyball team had a perfect 25-0 record this season and won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 state championship on Saturday, November 15. The team beat Wayland 3-2.

Oliver Ames had two boys on its teams: senior defensive specialists Sean Raymond and Evan Casey.

Casey had 12 digs in the championship game, while Raymond didn't record any stats, according to the box score on MaxPreps. In volleyball, a dig happens when a defensive move prevents an opponent’s attack from hitting the floor, keeping the play alive.

Defensive specialists — like Casey and Raymond — usually play fewer sets than other players because they’re used in specific back-row rotations, subbing in for front-row players to strengthen serve receive and defense rather than staying on the court full-time.

As defensive specialists, Raymond and Casey were key role players this season. Casey had 108 digs and Raymond had 37 digs, ranking fifth and seventh on the team, respectively, despite playing fewer sets than the starters, according to MaxPreps.

The Oliver Ames girls' volleyball Instagram account praised both players for their defensive contributions last month.

Of Raymond, it said, "Sean is one of our most reliable defensive specialists in back row. We are so grateful for you and all of the laughs Sean!!"

And of Casey, it said, "Evan is another one of our amazing defensive specialists!! We are so grateful for his commitment to our team and determination!!"

Massachusetts is the one state in America where boys who identify as boys can play on girls' sports teams. They do so every year, and some make a big impact on their respective teams.

The state lets boys play girls' sports due to the 1979 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision in Attorney General v. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The court ruled that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's policy of the time, which stated "No boy may play on a girls' team," was unlawful. The court's view was that it violated the Equal Rights Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution.

Here is what the Equal Rights Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution states:

All people are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin.

 

The Equal Rights Amendment was just a few years old at the time of that decision. It passed at the ballot box in the November 1976 general election; 60.4 percent of voters supported it, while 39.6 percent opposed it, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office. Every county in the Commonwealth voted in favor of the proposed amendment.

Statewide, in the fall 2024 season — the most recent data available — 325 MIAA member schools had girls' volleyball; 96 boys played for those teams, according to participation survey data from the MIAA.

The athletic director for Oliver Ames could not be reached for comment this past weekend.