Team first attitude has been mantra for Doherty boys' volleyball; St. John's coach Dan Seaver does his part in fight against cancer

Jay Gearan
·2 min read
Doherty volleyball captains left to right: Kevin Ly and Nick Zguro.
Doherty volleyball captains left to right: Kevin Ly and Nick Zguro.

Leading the way for the Doherty High boys volleyball team this spring are captains Kevin Ly, a junior and senior Nick Zguro.

“Volleyball is the ultimate team sport,” said Ly, an outside hitter. “You have six players on the court, and every player matters.”

Added Zguro, known for his strong leaping ability at the net and intensity, “We’re here to play hard, but we also have a lot of fun.”

The Highlanders, coached by Emily Boutilette, who is assisted by former Doherty player Sam Ganem, snapped a three-match losing streak with two wins last week, 3-1 over South Lancaster and 3-1 over Worcester Tech.

“We have a good, young team, but we have to learn to finish more matches,” said Boutilette, whose 12-year-old daughter, Alexis, keeps the team’s stats with remarkable precision.

Besides Zguro, the other Doherty seniors include Henry Rodriguez, Quinlan Harrity, Nathan Prentiss, Hung Son and Klejvi Sulaj.

St. John's boys' volleyball senior captains, from left, Harrison Ganong on left and Dan Wickstrom and coach Dan Seaver, right.
St. John's boys' volleyball senior captains, from left, Harrison Ganong on left and Dan Wickstrom and coach Dan Seaver, right.

St. John’s Seaver makes the cut

During the pandemic’s first year, Dan Seaver, the coach of the St. John’s volleyball team, decided to let his hair grow. A lot. Earlier this year, Seaver decided to donate much of his long locks, about 11 inches, to the fight against cancer in a “Cuts For Kids” fundraiser.

Seaver’s girlfriend, Molli McNamara, handled the barbering duties, and now Seaver’s mother, Debbie is very pleased.

“My mom is so happy now,” Seaver said with a laugh. “She just hated my long hair.”

Now sporting a short buzz cut, Seaver explained that donating his long locks to a fund helping to find a cure for cancer was important to him, especially when he recalls his former Milford High volleyball coach Linda Zacchilli, who passed away at age 68 in 2019 after a courageous 10-year battle with cancer.

“Linda was the best. She taught me everything about volleyball,” said Seaver, a Clinton firefighter, who noted that the St. John’s vs. Milford game earlier this month was a Coaches vs. Cancer Night.

Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Team first attitude has been mantra for Doherty boys' volleyball; St. John's coach Dan Seaver does his part in fight against cancer