Crabbers beat Smithfield

Norfolk Academy, Nansemond-Suffolk, StoneBridge, Cape Henry girls win titles

Hampton High overcame an early seven-point deficit to defeat Smithfield 32-25 Saturday at Darling Stadium in the playoffs’ first round, earning the Crabbers a chance to upset Class 4 Region A top seed Phoebus next week.

The fourth-seeded Crabbers went ahead 16-7 by halftime and survived 18 third-quarter points by the fifth-seeded Packers. Neither team scored in the final quarter.

NSA, Atlantic Shores fall in semifinals:

Both Hampton Roads teams in the VISAA Division II semifinals lost road games Saturday.

Malachi Terrell scored two touchdowns as second-seeded Blue Ridge breezed past thirdseeded Atlantic Shores 42-7. The Seahawks’ only touchdown was a 3-yard run by Jack Weaver late in the second quarter, but the Barons already led 28-0 by then.

Blue Ridge earned a berth in the title game against top-seeded North Cross (9-2), which defeated Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 35-0 in Roanoke. The Saints finished 5-6.

Field hockey

Bulldogs finish perfect season: Norfolk Academy completed a 23-0 season with perhaps its toughest victory of the year, overcoming Collegiate of Richmond 4-3 at St. Catherine’s in Richmond to win the VISAA Division I championship.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps, won most of their games by wide margins and had beaten Collegiate 7-1 on Oct. 13. But it took three goals by Joji Purdy and one by Brooke Bettencourt to overcome the Cougars.

In the Division II final, Fredericksburg Academy edged top-seeded Walsingham 4-3.

Girls volleyball

NSA, StoneBridge take VISAA championships: Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and StoneBridge showed why their top seedings were accurate, capturing VISAA championships Saturday on a day of finals at Steward School.

NSA won the Division II championship, overcoming No. 3 Covenant of Charlottesville 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18).

NSA’s Jossy Byars and Haley Price combined for 29 assists. Price had nine kills and three aces.

StoneBridge avenged an early-season defeat against thirdseeded Chelsea Academy, outlasting the Front Royal squad 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-12).

Kellam, Bruton among VHSL quarterfinal victors: In the VHSL quarterfinals, Kellam ousted Menchville 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-17) in Class 5. The Region B runner-up Knights advanced to a Tuesday semifinal against the First Colonial-Woodside winner.

For Kellam, Avery Hanley had 14 kills and 12 digs.

In Class 2, Region A champ Bruton mastered Fort Defiance 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) in the Panthers’ gym to reach a semifinal Tuesday against Woodstock Central or Amelia County.

Girls tennis

Cape Henry rallies to repeat crown:

Top-seeded Cape Henry Collegiate recovered in singles to repeat as the VISAA Division II champion, overcoming Norfolk Collegiate 5-4 on the Dolphins’ courts in Virginia Beach.

In the Division I final, TCIS champion Norfolk Academy fell 5-0 to top-seeded Collegiate in Richmond. The Cougars won all three of their tournament matches by shutout.

Cape Henry, No. 2 in the TCIS to the Bulldogs, had beaten Norfolk Collegiate 7-2 in their regular-season match and 5-1 in last year’s final.

But the Oaks pulled a surprise in doubles to start Saturday, going ahead 3-0. Cape Henry answered right back in singles, getting victories by Katie Tserediani (8-1 at No. 3), Lauren Yue (8-1 at 1), Berkeley Compton (8-3 at 6) and Tamara Tserediani (8-2 at 5) to move ahead 4-3.

The Oaks pulled to 4-all when Anya Beachy won 8-4 at 4, but about 10 minutes later, Mary Turner Shipp clinched the triumph for the Dolphins by winning 8-5 at 2.