Boys volleyball in Connecticut has been dominated by Staples for the better part of this decade, and coach Bruce Betts' squad is continuing the trend this season.

The Wreckers are living up to their name by completely wrecking their competition with an immaculate record of 14-0 (12-0 in the FCIAC) on a quest to a perfect season.

"Our goal is to get back to the FCIACs and the state tournament," Betts said. "We don't look ahead, we just play the game."

Staples is led by its senior quad captains, Charlie Wieser, Jackson Lesser, Max Shellman, and Peter Hlawitschka. Accompanying them are Ari Sinay, Tim Ramstella, Justin Grodman, Evan Kelly and Charles Winslow.

"We have a great defensive and passing team, which sets up our quick offense," he said. "But it all goes back to passing and defense."

Staples won four Class M titles in a row from 2001-04 before moving up to Class L and capturing the crown the last two years.

"Each team has their own characteristics," Betts said. "For the first time, I can't pick an MVP, (the players) are all pretty much equal. We have about eight or nine MVPs."

Each year, the pressure for Staples to make a repeat performance increases, and each year the Wreckers answer the call.

"These kids can't get enough volleyball, they go to camps and work hard at practice and they stick with it," said Betts, attributing the commitment of the players as the main reason for Staples' winning ways. "The success of the program sells itself. Each year,

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the new freshmen want to be better than the class the year before, and they've been pretty successful."

Winning is far from automatic, however, and the state's No. 1-ranked team will have a few bumps in the road to overcome as it goes up against some tough competition.

"We play Ridgefield, who is ranked sixth, on Friday," he said. "Next week, we have Darien, the No. 3 team, on Monday, Greenwich on Wednesday, and fifth-ranked Masuk next Friday. "Masuk is a new program, but they've played well so far. So the next week won't be easy for us."