Columbus fixes flaw, beats Varela for second consecutive GMAC volleyball title

Once Columbus stopped muscling up, the Explorers overpowered Varela.

The host Explorers (18-5) won their second straight boys’ volleyball GMAC title, defeating Varela, 27-25, 25-20, on Thursday evening.

Despite the loss, it was a good day for Varela (17-4), which made it to a GMAC final for the first time in program history.

In fact, the Vipers led for most of the first set. Columbus, plagued by numerous serves that sailed out of bounds – thus the muscling up reference – never led by two points until the final second of the set.

Columbus coach Daniel Thews said the serving issue has been a “focal point” all season.

“We took an ugly loss to Southwest last month -- we beat ourselves from the service line,” Thews said. “We missed 15 to 20 serves in that match.

“We talk about it all the time, but it’s really about the kids executing. If we don’t give the other team a bunch of free points, we’re untouchable.”

Columbus libero Marco Blavia said the issues include “over-aggression” and a lack of discipline.

“If we put the ball in the court and let the other team make the mistake,” Blavia said, “we have full control of the game.”

As if to prove that point, Columbus made far fewer service mistakes in the second set, and the Explorers’ front wall started to dominate, including 6-5 junior Sebastian Ruiz, who had six kills, four blocks and a 60.0 hitting percentage.

“Nobody’s blocking him,” Blavia said.

Others on that Columbus front line include 6-4 junior Cole Crep (five kills, 83.3 hitting percentage); 6-4 senior Lucas Riva (six kills, two blocks); and 6-3 freshman Kevin Perez (three kills, two blocks).

Earlier Thursday, Columbus beat Palmetto and Coral Gables, both by 2-0 scores. Varela defeated Goleman and Southwest, both by 2-1 scores.

In other words, Varela played two more games than Columbus on the day, and Vipers coach Sebastian Abreu indicated that fatigue was a factor in the final.

“In all honesty, a lot of tiredness,” Abreu said when asked what went wrong. “But I told our boys, ‘Champions don’t get tired.’”

In addition to fatigue, Varela lost 6-4 outside hitter Aquiles Lorenzo in the second set due to a foot injury. Varela was also without 6-2 senior Jacob Ramirez, who was at Grad Night festivities.

Fortunately for the Vipers – who last year won a district title for the first time in 20 years – seniors Dylan Reyes and Jake Colon stepped up on Thursday.

Abreu said his Vipers – who beat Columbus 3-1 last month – have already served notice that they will be contenders in the upcoming state playoffs.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a public school (such as Varela) or a private school (Columbus), if you work hard, you can go for it,” Abreu said. “No matter what the history is, you can write your own history.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Columbus fixes flaw, beats Varela for second consecutive GMAC volleyball title."