Lexington senior William Kohlasch believes he’s playing the best volleyball of his career.

The 6-foot co-captain is averaging 35 assists per game in fueling the Minutemen to a 5-0 start. But Kohlasch’s success masks his three-year struggle on the sideline, hampered by back, finger and ankle injuries, plus a 2020 season lost to the pandemic.

Kohlasch grinded through physical therapy and longed to compete, embracing his role as a player-coach of sorts. Now, he says he’s more cerebral and more confident than ever as a leader at Lexington.

“I think my game is at the best that I’ve seen it,” he said.

After earning a midseason call-up to varsity as a freshman, Kohlasch dealt with nagging back pain that resulted in a twisted rib diagnosis and him becoming “basically a turtle” when on his back. He missed three weeks, but just before the 2019 state tournament, Kohlasch broke his right middle finger when a hard-hit ball ricocheted off him in warmups. He didn’t play again that season.

“Immediately I was like, oh, that feels weird, because it wasn’t like a jam,” he said. “It was white-hot and I couldn’t move it.”

Kohlasch healed in time for the following club schedule, but waited with the rest of his Lexington teammates when the 2020 spring season was canceled. Entering 2021, he was prepared to assume a leadership role as a junior.

Two games into the regular season against Arlington, Kohlasch came down from a block, felt his left ankle crumple, and could not fit his foot back into his shoe. He was diagnosed with a severe sprain, and despite an optimistic initial timeline, didn’t return for the remainder of the season. Kohlasch was stunned.

“When you are taken out of something so quickly, it becomes really hard to go and watch it every day,” he said. “I was really mad, frankly . . . I had waited so long for this moment.”

Slowly, Kohlasch acclimated to learning, and teaching, from the sideline. At first, he simply observed quietly on the bench. Then Kohlasch began to pull players aside to point out details. He showed up to every practice even while hurt and wrangled together players to practice outside in the offseason.

“He really put the work in to try to become a better leader, and to contribute to the team in whichever way it made it possible,” senior co-captain Alex Hristov said.

Kohlasch made a confident return to club play with Boston UVC this winter and continued to study the game. Hristov says Lexington has rolled out a more complex offense with more tempo compared with past years, and credits Kohlasch with spurring the development.

“He’s a great leader,” Lexington coach Jane Bergin said. “[He] knows the game very well and has a high volleyball IQ.”

Out of necessity, Kohlasch has also heightened his awareness of his own body. His mother, Victoria Nessen, describes the family as a “fitness household” that stretches and develops conditioning programs together. She remembers fashioning weights out of paper towel rolls for a toddler-age Kohlasch.

As Kohlasch worked his way from crutches, to a brace, to no ankle support, he embraced physical therapy. When he could move freely, he brought friends to play volleyball and spikeball, and golfed with his father, Jim Kohlasch. He also incorporates ankle motion exercises into his routine for injury prevention.

“As a mom, I’m so proud,” Nessen said. “I’m proud because he’s playing really, really well. And he prepared his body for this.”

Lexington is second in the Globe Top 20 with a statement 3-0 win over Newton South highlighting the résumé to date. Kohlasch says he expected nothing less, but that the team can still reach a higher gear. The wizened senior setter will be instrumental in determining the Minutemen’s final ceiling.

“[Kohlasch] has made that sort of step from a general setter to, I believe, one of the best in the state,” Hristov said.

▪ The Winchester Tournament kicks off its fourth edition Wednesday. The tournament features top-ranked Needham, No. 20 O’Bryant, rising New Bedford, and No. 8 Winchester, and should serve as the highlight of April break action.

“The goal of it was to get some good teams together and [play] good, competitive games during April break,” Winchester coach John Fleming said.

Fleming said he was inspired to start the tournament after seeing the Coaches Cup in lacrosse. Instead of slowing things down in the middle of the regular season, the two-day event should offer Winchester a chance to stay in rhythm and test itself against other top teams.

“When we started this, that was part of the change that we wanted to make, was that we didn’t want it to be a complete downshift in the season,” he said. “We wanted to be able to have some competitive matches that our kids can look forward to.”

▪ Aside from the Winchester Tournament, the slate is sparse during spring vacation. One other matchup to watch: No. 9 St. John’s Prep heads to No. 13 Milford on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Both teams are undefeated, with the Eagles presiding over the Catholic Conference and the Scarlet Hawks reigning atop the Tri-Valley League.

▪ Eight Eastern Mass. teams remain perfect through at least four games of play: Needham (4-0), Lexington, Lowell (7-0), St. John’s Prep (7-0), Milford (6-0), Greater New Bedford (4-0), Boston Latin (4-0) and Revere (6-0).

Work at Boston Globe Media