BY SAPNA PATHAK

It began less than one minute after the first ball was served. It was loud, and it didn’t stop until well after the final play.

“Let’s go Salem!”

The continuous chant was heard by all in attendance at this year’s Division I boys volleyball championship, where the Blue Devils made history by winning a fourth straight state title.

The match, on Friday, Oct. 26, at Pinkerton Academy, pitted top-ranked Salem against No. 2 Keene; Salem came away with a 3-0 win, capping off D-I dominance that has yet to be checked.

“It’s hard to wrap up (the four years) from the beginning because we’re such a family, and there are
so many things I’ll take away from each state championship season,” said senior Josh Klecan, who received chants of “MVP,” from the Salem faithful after the match. “These seniors have been here all four years since we’ve been a sport, so we’ve been around all four years to win. Because I was a captain, this year feels the best because I had some more responsibility to the younger guys.”

The Blue Devils took a quick 2-0 lead after a 25-20 win in both game one and two. The Blackbirds did all they could to stop Salem’s balanced attack, led by seniors Dan Kinney, Tim Briggs, Mark Graziani and Klecan.

In game three, with Salem ahead 22-17, the Blackbirds took a timeout.

“When it comes to coaching, I have a type-A personality. That’s the only thing we’re talking about in the huddle, doesn’t matter the situation. We will be drawing plays and talking game plans,” said Salem head coach EJ Perry. “Other parts of my life, I’m laid back, but not coaching. So, yeah, we were definitely talking about volleyball during that last timeout.”

The Blue Devils moved to a 24-19 edge before 6-foot-2 senior Billy Webster earned the game-winning point, capping off another undefeated season, Salem’s fourth.

Senior Ryan Woelfel anchored the defense, while Kinney, Klecan and Dan Tiner controlled the offense. Eric Wilson, Andrew Dickie and Billy Kindon are also seniors who will graduate this year, leaving junior Tiner as the squad’s lone senior next season.

Right now, 2008 isn’t on anyone’s mind.

“This is the best championship,” said Perry of winning four titles. “Last year we won, and people said we lost a lot of talent and the run would end. We proved that we’re not about rebuilding, but reloading. They said this team was done, and winning tonight showed we’re not.”

Rounding out the championship roster were Chris DeMarco, Sean Stewart and Jared Scali.