Hollis Brookline's John Sommer makes a block at the net against Coe-Brown's Hugh Hamilton during the Cavs' 3-0 semifinal win Thursday at Nashua North. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Bear trap.

The writing was on the Titans Gyam wall Thursday – via the scoreboard – and also on the faces and in the body language of the Coe-Brown Northwood High School boys volleyball players.

They had lost a close first set,25-23, to the No. 2 Hollis Brookline Cavaliers in the NHIAA semifinals at Nashua North and proceeded to fall behind 8-3 in the second set.

It was over. That’s what this HB team can do to an opponent, as the Cavs prevailed, 25-23, 25-12, 25-18 to advance to Saturday’s 6 p.m. final vs. unbeaten Windham here at North.

The Cavs just let the Bears get so close, and then they sprung. Snap.

“It’s all about energy with this team,” said Cavs coach Ed Leonard. “We changed a few things in our starting rotation in the first set, and obviously it didn’t work out for us, so we went back to our bread and butter. It’s all about these guys believing.”

And often the opposing team, like the No. 3 15-3 Bears, lose that faith, even though they came into the semis on an 11-match winning streak. They were up 23-22 in the opening set and lost the next three points to put them in a 1-0 hole they never could – or believe they could – dig out of.

“We definitely lost some momentum there,” Bears coach Ryan Smith said. “It was back and forth the whole time, couple close calls. But hats off to Hollis, they were able to execute better than we were.”

Part of that was due to the play of Cavs senior Jake Laborde, one of the state’s best players, who led the way with 15 kills and six digs up front. It was fitting that his cross court slam ended the match.

“We just minimized our errors, and played as a team really well,” Laborde said. “Our blocking was fantabulous. We played a cleaner game.”

“They’re blocking was huge,” Smith said. “That’s something we talked about before the match. They did a great job closing the block, did a great job hitting spots all match long. Just a great team, talented team out there.”

Brady Kouchoukos led the Bears with six kills, while Hugh Hamilton added five.

Besides Laborde’s efforts, Aidan Norris had eight kills and six digs, while Brady Noble added five, Dan Sattler had 14 digs and Ethan Norris added 28 assists.

Laborde and Norris, both outside hitters, have formed a solid one-two punch.

“It is a one-two punch,” Leonard said. “They both have different skill sets. Aidan can hit over blocks, just big, strong. Jake is a precision power, but precision. He can put the ball where he wants to.”

Those two have paced the Cavs, who are in the their first finals since they won it all back in 2016. As usual, they have a lot of first-time volleyball players on the roster.

“It’s hard,” Leonard said. “None of these guys have played here before, 10 percent of the guys, this is the second time (season) they’ve ever played. The rest of the team is all brand new.”

And now they have to go up against a Jaguar powerhouse that has beaten them 3-0 not once, but twice, although in the second matchup the sets were closer. Windham cruised past Londonderry 3-0 in the other semi. But Leonard and Laborde know what the Cavs have to do, as they made a combined total of 84 unforced errors in the two matches.

“We’ve got to minimize our errors, and go out there and play our game,” Laborde said.

And not fall into the same trap the Bears did.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

Besides HB’s volleyball finals, two other local teams will vie for state titles on Saturday. At 4:30 p.m. it’s the No. 2, 17-2 Campbell girls softball team going up against No. 1, 20-0 Prospect Mountain at Plymouth State.

At 7 p.m, the Hollis Brookline baseball team, No. 1 at 17-1,will square off against No. 2 St. Thomas of Dover at Manchester’s Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

Also, the Souhegan doubles team of Maddie Daniel/Mishka Tower, seeded fourth, will square off in the state semis vs. Derryfield’s Julia Hardy/Sophia Correnti, seeded second, at Southern New Hampshire University. If they win that, the finals will be shortly after.

But that’s not all. Of course on Sunday night at 7:30 at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium the No. 2, 18-2 Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse team will square off vs. No. 1 Exeter at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium. That will be the final high school tournament event of the spring, leaving only the annual Decathlon-Heptathlon in Nashua next weekend to wrap up the school sports year.