As the boys’ volleyball regular season winds down, the district championship races are taking shape:
Beach District: Top-ranked Kellam (12-0 in Beach play) is the class of the district, followed closely by No. 5 Kempsville (12-1). The teams will not meet again, thus leaving the Knights with a clear path to the title. Sixth-ranked First Colonial (10-3) is not mathematically eliminated, but most likely will stay in third.
Eastern District: Second-ranked Granby (13-0 in Eastern) and eighth-ranked Maury (12-1) face each other on Wednesday at Maury to determine whether the Comets will win the district outright or share the crown with the Commodores. Granby won their first match in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-22).
Peninsula District: No. 3 Warwick (15-1) almost has the title in hand. A loss to seventh-ranked Kecoughtan (12-2) in the regular season finale could make things interesting, but only if the Warriors win their other two matches. Warwick won their first match between the two teams 3-1 on Sept. 23. No. 4 Menchville is also 12-2, but finishes the regular season with a nondistrict scrum against Western Branch, and cannot win 15 district matches.
Southeastern District: No. 10 Grassfield leads the top four contenders at 10-1, and will face Oscar Smith and 12th-ranked Great Bridge to finish the regular season. No. 11 Western Branch (9-2) finishes its district slate against Lakeland and No. 13 Hickory before a nondistrict match against Menchville.
Last week, Indian River stunned Grassfield in a 3-0 sweep as the Braves’ Jaden Norman, Bobby Johnson and Francisco Lloret combined for 27 kills.
Denbigh (10-7) re-enters the 757 rankings at No. 15 after Princess Anne (10-8) lost to Kempsville, while the Patriots recovered from a loss to Warwick to defeat rival Woodside 3-1.
Team, Record, Previous
1. Kellam (17-2), 1
2. Granby (18-2), 2
3. Warwick (19-1), 5
4. Menchville (15-3), 3
5. Kempsville (15-4), 6
6. First Colonial (13-6), 8
7. Kecoughtan (13-6), 7
8. Maury (13-2), 8
9. Indian River (11-6), 13
10. Grassfield (14-6), 5
11. Western Branch (14-3), 10
12. Great Bridge (13-7), 12
13. Hickory (12-6), 13
14. Ocean Lakes (9-7), 14
15. Denbigh (10-7), NR
Dropped out: Princess A
