For the fourth straight year, the Granby boys’ volleyball team will rule the Region 5B roost. With their hard fought 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 24-26, 25-21) win over a small, but fiercely competitive Warwick squad, the Comets will try to win the first ever Class 5 boys state championship, which will be played at Virginia State University on November 22 at 6 PM.
If Granby (23-2) succeeds in its title bid, it may be Wednesday’s match that is remembered as the one in which the Comets had to rely on precision and ball movement, but mostly, guts.
“We spent this week working on blocking, stopping shots outside, and making hard angle hits,” said Granby coach Michelle Neaves after receiving the first-place trophy yet again. “We had to keep their blockers guessing and make sure that everyone on our front line could put the ball down.”
Warwick entered the match with a 23-1 mark for the season and loads of momentum which comes from being the bracket’s top seed. What the team lacked in height (no player over 6-2) and numbers (11, compared to Granby’s 17), was superseded by a can-do attitude and hard-nosed collective behavior that showed no fear throughout the match.
The first set resembled the volleyball equivalent of a backboard breaking contest between Shaquille O’Neal and Darryl Dawkins as the two teams fired kill shots at each other with success. For Warwick, Josiah Norton matched the explosiveness of Granby’s Gabe Sol, Alijah Lamp and Andrew Parker.
“J.J. (Norton) was excellent for them,” said Neaves of Warwick’s senior outside hitter., whose team will open the state playoffs against Indian River on Saturday.
The Raiders scored early, jumping to an early five-point lead in the first set. Granby didn’t take the lead until the 21st point and then held on to win the first set after a kill from Lamp gave the Comets a 23-20 edge.
The second set got away from Warwick as unforced errors led to a dismal 10-point defeat in set 2. But the visitors, who will open their state championship bid against Kempsville, survived a gut check, elevating from being stuck on match point to reeling off three points to win Set 3 by the score of 26-24.
Warwick took an early 8-6 lead in Set 4, but another Lamp kill gave Granby a 15-13 lead, which they held on to for a 25-21 win.
“Team wise, we are well rounded, and we had our best practices of the season this week,” said Sol, who finished the night with 12 kills, behind Lamp (15) and parker (20) for the team lead. Libero Davis Mendoza scooped 31 digs and Will Findlay orchestrated the offense with 50 assists.
Menchville Sweeps Maury to Claim Girls Title
In spite of missing head coach Lorenzo Fuentes for the duration of the tournament, the Menchville girls, ably led by assistant Nikki Wade, cruised to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-14) victory in the girls Region 5B championship over previously unbeaten Maury.
“We worked hard to win it for him,” said Wade, underplaying her own contribution to the cause. “The girls played with high intensity; every player was in the right place and did their jobs.
Maury entered the match with a perfect 20-0 record, but the Commodores struggled to match the methodical ball movement and precise shot making from the Monarchs. Menchville led at every point during the match, save for a brief period where the score was knotted at nine, and then ten, early in the third set. It was followed by a 7-0 Monarch run to seal the win.
Caroline Clements and Jordein Holder each scored 11 kills, while Emma Wade passed for 34 assists for the Monarchs.
Menchville (19-4) will begin the quarterfinals against Ocean Lakes, while Maury (20-1) faces off against Kellam, the area’s top-ranked team.
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