The Cranston East boys volleyball team always considered itself the best club in the state, even if no one else did.

The Bolts silenced the doubters on Sunday at Rhode Island College, when they pulled off the shocking 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 16-14) win over top-seeded North Kingstown to bring home their first Division I title to prove that they truly were the state’s premier program. 

The unbeaten Skippers were undefeated this spring and handed the Bolts three losses in the regular season. NK only surrendered five sets all year.

The Bolts made their presence felt early as they took the first two sets to go up 2-0. East mounted a 16-10 advantage in the third set, but the Skippers would finally find their offensive rhythm and storm back to grab the win, then carried the momentum through the lopsided fourth set.

East jumped ahead 4-1 in the final set, and although the Skippers grabbed two leads in the frame, the Bolts remained a step ahead and would secure the game-winner when a Sam Rivera serve hit the NK side of the floor for the match point. 

“We knew we were going to be here since last year, that was the start of it,” said East senior Caleb Xum, referring to the team’s semifinal loss to La Salle. “This means a lot to us as a team and as a school. It’s really special. Since our freshman year, we knew we wanted this more than anyone in the state, so winning this is tremendous.”

The Bolts earned the second seed in the playoffs and reached the championship game with ease, sweeping both Chariho in the quarters and Bishop Hendricken in the semis.

The Bolts relied on the usual formula in the opening two rounds – heavy hitting from Charles Pincince and Dennis Dixon while receiving quality setting from Xum.

After three losses to the Skippers, though, East coach Jhamal Diggs made a gutsy decision, moving Xum from setter to libero for the championship match. The move paid dividends, as it took the Skippers nearly three sets to break through.

“We just knew that after the third loss we needed to make an adjustment. We moved Caleb to libero which some people questioned, but if we believed in ourselves, we’d make it work. That definitely changed the game because defense wins championships,” said Diggs.

Although the Bolts looked poised to possibly sweep the Skippers, NK did its part and fought back to force five sets. East prepared for a marathon in the days leading up to the big game. 

“Amazing job by NK. We knew this was going to be a fight and we prepared all week. We were ready to go five sets. My guys were resilient and tough. They practiced hard, and I told them, ‘The scoreboard can be misleading at some points. Whether you are up or down, you need to continue to play the game,’” said Diggs.

“It was all about momentum. We needed to come out with fire and win it from there. We practice hard every day and we prepared for this moment,” added Xum.

The championship was the first-ever win for Diggs, who also coaches girls basketball at Johnston. He spent multiple seasons with the East girls as well. 

“We have so many great stories. I’m going to miss him when I leave. We wanted to get him a title and we did it,” said Xum of Diggs.

Diggs was not only thrilled to get the job done with the seniors, including Xum, Pincince and Dixon, but he was also happy to get a win for the late Meg McGonagle, East’s former coach that revitalized the program and led it to a Division II title back in 2017.

“They’re going to remember this for the rest of their life. I was happy to do it with this group and they set that expectation for the guys coming up. Championships. I know if Coach Meg was alive she’d be proud,” said Diggs. “She was a winner, she was a champion, I know she’d be proud if she was here today.”