Boys volleyball
Class 5 semifinals
Granby lost the first two sets to defending state champion Kellam on Tuesday in a Class 6 semifinal. What followed was a tremendous reversal of fortune that saw the Comets win the final three sets 25-20, 25-20, 15-7 to slam past the Knights 3-2 at Norview High.
The Comets’ remarkable comeback earned them the program’s first state championship game berth in school history. Granby (25-2) plays Glen Allen at 6 p.m. Saturday at Virginia State University in Petersburg for the title.
“Set by set, point by point,” Granby assistant Scott Yoder said.
“They have been fighters from Day 1,” added Comets head coach Michelle Neaves. “They never gave up, and look, they beat the defending state champions.”
Unlike their quarterfinal match against Warwick, Granby relied on finesse as much as raw power. Andrew Parker led the team with 19 kills, but his 11 blocks, matched with several drop shots, helped the Comets rebound.
Granby’s Elijah Lamp finished with 12 kills and three blocks, while Davis Mendoza finished with 27 digs and Parker added 19 digs. Gabe Sol contributed 12 kills and seven blocks, while Brandon Layne added nine blocks and seven kills and Josh Loo had five kills, 10 digs and two aces.
Will Findlay directed the offense with 51 assists, while adding five kills.
The fifth set was tied 3-3 before the Comets rattled off 12 of the next 16 points to win it.
“I was excited — it was pure adrenaline,” Parker said. “We knew how much we wanted it, and we were not about to give up.”
Added Layne: “We had played (Kellam) twice in the past two years and lost 3-0 both times. We wanted to make a statement and we had something to prove.”
Glen Allen topped Kempsville 3-2 in the other semifinal Tuesday.
— Jim McGrath
Class 6 semifinals
Grassfield 3, Woodson 1: Andrew Burke and Isaiah Agustin led an attack that registered 57 kills and Caedan Agustin collected 44 assists as the Grizzlies advanced to the program’s first state championship game appearance.
Grassfield dropped the first set 33-31 before sweeping the final three 25-23, 25-19, 25-19.
The Grizzlies play Cosby at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at Virginia State University.
Class 4 semifinals
Maggie Walker at Atlee
Hanover 3, Patrick Henry (Ashland) 1
Girls volleyball
Class 5 semifinals
Kellam 3, Midlothian 0: Sophie Barnes and Riley Erwin finished with 17 and 11 kills, respectively, as the Knights earned a spot in the state championship game for the first time since 2020.
Kellam won state titles in 2016 and 2019 and lost to T.C. Williams in 2020.
Barnes added 13 digs and Erwin contributed 17 assists, while Emmie Irving had 22 assists and five service aces. Guilia Allison (23 digs) and Bella D’Adarria (14 digs) helped the Knights win 25-18, 25-15, 25-16.
Kellam plays Riverside — a 3-0 winner over Ocean Lakes — for the Class 6 championship at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at Virginia State University.
Class 6 semifinals
West Springfield 3, Grassfield 0
Charles J. Colgan 3, James Madison 0
Class 4 semifinals
James Wood 3, Courtland 1
Class 3 semifinals
Christiansburg 3, New Kent 0
Abingdon 3, Kettle Run 0
Class 2 semifinals
Radford 3, John Battle 1
Fort Defiance 3, Clarke County 0
Class 1 semifinals
Middlesex 3, Lancaster 2
Giles 3, Auburn 1
