Class C boys volleyball: Granby clinches second WMass title with 3-1 victory over Veritas Prep

CHICOPEE — The Granby boys volleyball team won its second Western Mass Class C title in program history on Thursday night, holding on to defeat Veritas Prep 3-1 at Chicopee Comp High School.

Throughout the first half of the first set, the Rams struggled to find a groove. Falling down 12-6 early on, they came together in a timeout looking to find a much-needed boost in momentum.

Coming out of the one-minute break, the team immediately reaped the benefits of stopping their opponent’s momentum. Climbing back little by little, Granby first tied things up at 17-17 before taking the lead right after. 

Nathan Walsh was back serving for the Rams at the time, going on a streak, with great play all around from his team, leading to the score getting to 23-17. The momentum had fully flipped sides, with Granby taking control and completing the comeback with a 25-20 victory to set the tone despite the slow start.

“Everybody’s gonna have a bad day,” Rams head coach Chad Gagnon said. “So you have to pick each other up, play as a team. That was the message at practice [on Wednesday], was, ‘[If]you guys play as a team, as a total unit, we can win any game.”

With the momentum still on their side, Granby got out to a hot start to the second set of the night. The Rams 5-0 lead to begin was quickly extended to 9-2, forcing the Vipers to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.

Granby stuck to its game plan throughout the rest of the set, leaning into the energy their fan section was giving them. With a confident mindset, the team’s success continued both offensively and defensively, leading to a dominant 25-15 set victory.

Braeden Gallagher and Jake Gagnon took over for the Rams in the second frame, making the most of every opportunity to put points on the board. The two stayed hot through the rest of the night, dictating the game with big swings coming from both sides of the court.

“The boys are always there; passing is almost automatic with the two of them,” Chad Gagnon said of the duo. “The rest of the team is starting to feed off of it.”

Veritas didn’t go down without a fight, battling through a competitive first few points of the third set to take a 7-6 lead. From there, the Vipers went on a streak of their own, not looking back till the score was 20-8 and the set was out of reach for the Rams.

Despite a late burst from Granby, Veritas held on with help from a loud crowd that erupted after each point, to take the third set 25-15.

“Backed into a corner, the boys finally flipped the switch, and they started to realize that it’s now or never,” Vipers head coach Keith Dube said. “Finally, we got a glimpse to see what they can actually do.”

The Rams came back strong in the fourth set of the night, again coming together as a team and relying on each other to come through in the biggest moment. Walsh continued to play a huge role for his squad, setting his teammates up for success throughout the dominant set.

After winning the final set 25-14, Granby earned its second sectional championship trophy in the last three years. The Rams now await their state tournament matchup, giving them a brief period to celebrate Thursday’s victory before getting back to work.

“I really don’t think we’re at the top of where we can be,” Chad Gagnon said. “I still think we’re building…
So we’re still just getting out feet under ourselves, and I think we have a much higher ceiling. So going into states, we’re looking good. I feel much better this year than we have previously.”