The VHSL regional boys volleyball playoffs will begin Saturday, and over the next 11 days, the eight teams that will advance to the state championship tournaments will be decided.
Friday, Class 5 Region B gave an indicator as to how its teams are currently seeded with two or fewer matches left in the regular season.
Third-ranked Warwick and second-ranked Granby hold the top two spots, with Warwick slightly holding a slightly higher rating. This could change on Tuesday as the Raiders face 10th-ranked Kecoughtan, while the Comets complete their regular season against emerging seventh-ranked Indian River, which defeated ninth-ranked First Colonial last week.
The current seedings, and the bracket they would produce:
#8 Woodside (7-9) vs. #1 Warwick (20-1)
#5 Kecoughtan (14-7) vs. #4 Maury (14-3)
#7 Nansemond River (8-10) vs. #2 Granby (19-2)
#6 King’s Fork (9-7) vs. #3 Menchville (17-3)
The quarterfinals will be held Saturday at Norview High with #1 vs. #8 at 9 a.m., followed by 2 vs. 7 at 11 a.m., 3 vs. 6 at 1 p.m. and 4 vs. 5 at 3 p.m.
The final Region 5B and 5A seedings will be announced shortly after the regular season. Both hold special significance this year as a Class 5 state championship has been added to the VHSL schedule this year. In the past, Class 5 and Class 6 schools competed for a single Class 6 title.
While the new alignment sets up another opportunity for Class 5 schools, last year’s Class 6 champion, top-ranked Kellam, is a Class 5 school, as well as the prohibitive Region 5A favorite.
One coach takes a holistic view. Michelle Neaves, Granby’s boys coach, has seen her team knocked out of the state tournament by Deep Run (Class 6) in 2023 and James River (Class 5 Region C) over the past two seasons.
“I feel good about this year, but Region C and Region D are still very tough regions, and I do not think anyone from either region is going to be easy,” said Neaves, whose Comets have won 12 straight matches. “Kellam seems to be our Achilles’ heel, but I know the boys would love another shot at beating them for the title.”
In their earlier meeting, at the Endless Summer tournament Sept. 13, the Knights prevailed two sets to none.
Indian River, with its wins over Great Bridge and First Colonial, moves up to No. 7 in the top 15. In a narrow 3-2 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13) win over the Patriots and a sweep over the Wildcats (25-18, 25-14, 25-22), Jaden Norman, Bobby Johnson, Evan Mason, Mohammed Badji and Francisco Lloret combined for 100 kills.
Team (Record), Previous
1. Kellam (19-2), 1
2. Granby (19-2), 2
3. Warwick (20-1), 3
4. Menchville (17-3), 4
5. Kempsville (16-4), 5
6. Maury (14-3), 8
7. Indian River (13-6), 9
8. Grassfield (16-6), 10
9. First Colonial (14-7), 6
10. Kecoughtan (14-7), 7
11. Hickory (15-6), 13
12. Western Branch (15-4), 11
13. Great Bridge (13-8), 12
14. Ocean Lakes (10-8), 14
15. Denbigh (11-8), 15
