Jamesville-DeWitt boys volleyball claims 3rd state title in 4 years with 5-set comeback win: ‘That was a dogfight’

Rochester, N.Y. – Luke Schaefer tapped all of his teammates on their shoulders and held up his right index finger.

“We gotta get one,” he told them.

A moment later, teammate Daniel Nemi held up the same finger as he sprinted to the stands with glee.

Nemi’s game-winning spike clinched Jamesville-DeWitt boys volleyball’s third state title in four years, as the Red Rams came back to beat defending champion Eastport-South Manor, 16-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10 for the Division II boys volleyball state championship.

With J-D clinging to an 8-6 lead at the fifth-set changeover, Nemi was so anxious that he threw up on the bench. Only water came out – he had nothing in his stomach.

“It was completely surreal,” Nemi said of the ending. “I’m pretty sure I blacked out for a second.”

Heading into Sunday’s championship game, Eastport and J-D had claimed the past four Division II state titles, with the Sharks winning in 2021 and 2024 and the Red Rams winning in 2022 and 2023. Eastport was seeking its second straight undefeated state championship, a run that included knocking J-D out in pool play last year.

After both schools dispatched their semifinal opponents 3-0 earlier on Sunday afternoon, they were set for their first-ever matchup in the title game – and it surpassed all the hype. Though the opening and closing sets didn’t end with tight finishes, neither team took a lead of more than four points across the middle three sets.

“That’s how state finals should be,” J-D head coach Jake Cline said. “Who’s going to live up to the moment?”

Eastport and J-D split the opening 14 points of the first set before the Sharks won five points in a row and cruised to take the most lopsided set of the match, 25-16. J-D just couldn’t stop Eastport opposite hitter Jack Cain, who spiked home point after point in front of a raucous Eastport crowd.

J-D never let Eastport break away in the second set. The Red Rams scored four straight to turn an 18-17 deficit into a 21-18 lead, then held on to win it, 25-23.

J-D held Cain silent for much of the third set as the two teams marched to another 18-18 tie, but he started spiking fastballs again, and Eastport got back in front. J-D fought off three set points, but Eastport won the set, 26-24.

Cline and his players expected a four or five-set match. So when Eastport took a two sets to one lead – meaning J-D would have to win the last two sets to win the title – the Red Rams were unconcerned.

“We fight under pressure,” Schaefer said. “We’re the best team in the state under pressure.”

The Red Rams held a slight edge for most of the fourth set, and though Eastport got within a point at 24-23, Cain fired a spike into the net on set point to send the match to a deciding fifth set.

Cline normally chooses to serve first, but in Sunday’s fifth set, he chose to return first. He wanted the first chance to attack.

And following an incredibly tight first 90 minutes where neither team had much for runs, the Red Rams rewarded Cline’s confidence. J-D won the first four points of the fifth set to force an Eastport timeout and raise Red Ram fans to their highest volume yet.

“You see our bench going nuts, doing every celebration possible,” Nemi said. “When we get crazy, we play crazy, so once we see each other screaming, everyone joins in and we just play at our best.”

After injuries to key middle blockers Ryan Keough and Chinemerem Okereke, sophomore Noah Jones entered the match as a replacement deep in the fourth set. A JV player for almost the whole season, he had only ever appeared in three varsity matches.

He tapped the ball over the net for the first point of the fifth set and teamed up with Owen Dougherty to block a spike for the third point of the set.

“Clutchest player in J-D history,” Cline said.

Eastport cut J-D’s lead to just a point at 5-4, 7-6 and 9-8, but J-D won six of the final eight points to run away with the set and claim the championship.

“You can’t win a state championship by playing passive, ever,” Cline said. “So we know if we’re going to lose, we’re going to go out swinging.”

Dougherty led the Red Rams with 25 kills and 22 assists, while Schaefer chipped in 15 kills and Keough tallied eight. The Red Rams combined for 11 blocks — four of them from Zach Price — and libero Zach Hildreth led the group with 17 digs.

J-D swept Spencerport in the 2022 title game and swept Westhampton in the 2023 title game. Sunday’s match was a thriller in every respect. As Cline stepped up to receive his third state championship trophy in four years, his eyes were red with emotion.

“This one meant the most so far,” Cline said.

Players cried through their smiles as they posed for pictures with the state championship banner. Schaefer and Hildreth shared a tearful hug.

“I just can’t believe it,” Dougherty said. “I’m a little bit shocked. That was a dogfight.”