The Natick boys’ volleyball team was pretty good last season. This year, it wants to be a champion.

Natick (4-1), ranked fourth in this week’s Globe Top 20, entered last year’s playoffs with a 14-3 record, but for the second year in a row was swept out of the quarterfinals. After putting in offseason work, the team looks stronger right out of the gate.

“I think everybody on our team is super fired up. We’re all hungry,” said senior Harrison Landry. “Last year we got sent home earlier than expected. We want to do it this year. We want to make it happen.”

Landry is the heart of the team, a 5-foot-11-inch setter with more than 800 career assists tasked with making the most of the Redhawks’ hitting depth. Named the team MVP last year, the three-year captain’s connection with his teammates unlocks their capabilities at the net.

“Growing up playing with Harrison, it’s definitely helped me understand where he’s going,” said senior Nick Bonavire, who has played with Landry since middle school. “[I can] determine based on his posture on the court if the ball is coming to me, if he’s going to do a trick play or dump.”

Bonavire has emerged alongside returning Globe All-Scholastics Branch Barnes and Matt Salerno to form a trio of 6-foot-2 captains at the net. Salerno had more than 275 kills on fewer than 500 attempts last season, and Barnes has more than 200 kills and 250 assists in his high school career.

In its first crack at the team that eliminated them last season, Natick swept No. 5 Brookline, boosted by 14 kills from Bonavire.

“It’s such a good feeling to depend on your teammates, especially more this year than last year,” said Salerno. “Last year we were good, but we were outside-heavy. It would be me or Branch getting all the sets.”

Barnes, who led Natick with 15 kills against Brookline, came into high school as an outside hitter, but played setter the past two years and excelled. Now, he’s back, primarily, as an outside hitter, but his experience setting continues to be valuable.

“I think it’s the best position to learn about your hitters, what they do well, when they’re ready, what they need to do to be successful,” Barnes said. “I was able to find connections and control the connections as a setter. Now as a hitter, I still have the connection to understand what everyone needs.”

Each practice, Natick drills the fundamentals. Everyone sets, hits, and passes. During a stretch against Needham, Landry set Barnes for a kill, then Barnes set Landry, then Landry set Barnes again.

“He’s not a setter anymore but we still have that chemistry,” said Landry. “It’s almost like when we’re on the court we know what each other’s thinking and there’s no need for words.”

Coach Peter Suxho is able to tinker with the lineup more this year because of the all-around improvement his players have made.

“They give me more opportunities, more ways to win the game,” Suxho said. “We’re not playing with only one lineup this year. We have 2-3 lineups playing in different ways. This makes us stronger.”

Barnes is one of the premier players in the state not just because of his ability to set and spike a ball, but his knowledge of the game brings another setter’s eye.

“It’s pretty useful,” said Landry. “I can’t think of other teams that have two setters in, other than Needham. When you’re out of system, Harrison sets Branch. It’s easier on our back row because we don’t have to worry about who’s getting the second ball.”

The Redhawks will continue to refine the best way to tap into their sky-high potential, and will be a dangerous team come playoffs.

“It’s definitely our last chance, that’s the way I see it,” Salerno said. “We know we have the tools to get to the state final and win it. We can only lose to ourselves at this point.”

• Elsewhere in the Bay State Conference, Newton North ended Needham’s 77-game winning streak Thursday.

Newton North, now ranked No. 1 in the Globe’s Top 20, dropped the first and third sets, but kept grinding out wins in the second, fourth, and finally the fifth to earn the historic victory.

“We feel good,” said Newton North coach Nile Fox. “We came out and really worked hard. We left it all out on the floor. We have a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season after a big win like that.”

Senior Adam Christianson, a Globe All-Scholastic as a hitter last season, has added setting to his role on the team, racking up a line of 21 assists, 16 kills, 6 aces, and 4 blocks. He is the key for North as it traverses a rigorous schedule.

• Merrimack Valley Conference teams are known for playing few out-of-conference games. Lowell scheduled a few of those early, and against top competition.

With four-set wins over No. 12 Cambridge and No. 10 Lexington, the sixth-ranked Red Raiders are proving their success can translate outside of their region. No. 2 Needham on May 3 will be their next big non-MVC test.

“It’s nice to play these teams and not have it be the end of our season,” said coach Paul McCarthy.

Lowell secured the No. 2 seed in last year’s Division 1 tournament, but was ousted at home by Newton North. Most players are back for Lowell, including star setter Tyrell Lout. The Red Raiders are eager to prove they can go further.

“They’re pretty hungry,” McCarthy said. “A lot of them did club volleyball. They really put in their time . . . A bunch of kids who are working hard.”

Tuesday, No. 14 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) at No. 4 Natick, 4:30 p.m. — Two teams that made Division 1 tournament runs to the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively, meet in a nonleague match.

Thursday, No. 10 Lexington at No. 3 Milford, 12:15 p.m. — A battle of top 10 teams.

Thursday and Friday, No. 2 Needham, No. 12 Cambridge, No. 14 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) at No. 8 Winchester — Coach John Fleming and the Red & Black host their annual ALS One tournament.

Friday, No. 13 Methuen at No. 7 BC High, 5:15 p.m. — A team undefeated in the Merrimack Valley Conference takes on a team unbeaten in the Catholic Conference.

Correspondent Julia Yohe contributed to this story.

AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com.