PETERSBURG — With one final, emphatic kill, Nadiya Johnson slammed the door on Kellam’s hopes of a girls volleyball state championship.
Johnson, a 6-foot-2 senior hitter who has signed with Baylor, finished with 20 kills, including one on each of the final three points, as Riverside beat Kellam 3-1 in the Class 5 title match Saturday at Virginia State University.
The Rams (28-2), of Leesburg, secured a second straight state championship game victory over Kellam (24-4) after sweeping the Knights last season.
Kellam won the first set 25-21 before Riverside took the final three 25-14, 25-19, 25-16.
Johnson and teammates Gabbie Vizek (6-1) and Kenzie Davis (5-11) formed a formidable trio on the front line, but Johnson stood out, especially in the closing sets. She tallied eight kills in the third set and five in the fourth.
“She’s 6-10 when she’s up in the air,” Knights coach Keira Fout said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of rotating to get blocks, but they moved her around.”
Girls@VHSL_ Class 5 championship.
Riverside beats Kellam 3-1 to repeat. Nadiya Johnson caps a dominating day with a kill to seal it.
: @JamiVP pic.twitter.com/flcUkK3GFF
— 757Teamz (@757teamz) November 22, 2025
Sophie Barnes, a 6-footer, and Riley Erwin (6-1) paced Kellam’s attack. Barnes finished with 10 kills, and her smash punctuated the Knights’ first set win. Erwin collected seven kills.
Kellam raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Riverside rattled off an 11-2 run to even the match at 1. The Knights led only briefly (4-3) in the third set and fell behind in the fourth after an 11-11 tie.
Kellam, seeking its first state championship since winning in 2016 and 2019, had won 19 consecutive games before Saturday. The Knights’ late-season run — after an early-season loss to eventual Class 4 champion James Wood — included a title in the rugged Beach District and a Region A Tournament title.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Fout said.
The Rams finished the season on a 23-game winning streak after also losing early this season to James Wood.
