VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — This past Saturday night in Richmond, the Kellam boys volleyball team made school history as the Knights defeated James River High School to win the school’s first-ever boys volleyball state title.
Kellam’s three-set win punctuated its memorable season with an emphatic exclamation mark for its 28th consecutive victory.
The players confidence helped carry them to the win.
“At the start of the third set, right after that, I think we got in their heads and we knew right away we got this in the bag,” said senior Austin Makovec.
Said senior Sora Perry: “Going into the third set, we just destroyed them.”
One of the big reasons for Kellam’s success has been because of the play of 6-foot-9 Joel Eanes. He’s going to college at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to continue his volleyball playing career. He knew his group of players at Kellam were special.
“Never a doubt did I think we were gonna lose this season,” Eanes said. “Just being able to back it up and make it a reality, it felt real, but unreal.”
The championship match was Saturday night in Richmond. The team said they enjoyed the bus trip back home, but that was nothing compared to what they experienced when they arrived at school Monday morning.
“We had a parade,” Perry said. “We walked around the whole school and had the band and cheerleaders.”
It was truly a special return home for the state champs.
“I felt on top of the world,” Makovec said. “Walking in and having a bunch of kids congratulate me and having a bunch of teachers come up to me, it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.”
Coach Aaron Campbell has been in charge for four seasons, and now that he’s tasted a state championship, he wants more.
“It does taste good,” Campbell said. “It’s definitely something we’re going to strive to do year after year.”