The senior-heavy team brought their victory back to the peninsula for a special homecoming
The GSA’s volleyball team took home the programs first championship win since it began a decade ago. Photo by Michael Colombo.
Nov. 2, 2026
By Michael Colombo
BANGOR—At 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, George Stevens Academy’s Layla Hutchins opened the Class D state volleyball championship with a serve into the waiting defense of the Woodland Dragons. By 8:16 p.m., the Eagles and their fans were storming the court to celebrate the first state title in the program’s 10-year history.
The Eagles won in straight sets, 25-12, 25-20, 25-13, a dominant finish to mirror their successful season in which they lost just nine sets and two matches.
Anchored by five seniors, the Eagles were poised from the outset.
“The nerves shook off as soon as we got on the court,” senior captain Taylor Grego said. “We worked so hard for this. It’s an amazing feeling.”
By mid-match, the temperature inside Husson University’s Newman Gymnasium had climbed along with the din of the crowd. While anticipation mounting in the bleachers, the Dragons dug in on the court, fighting back to tie the second set at 15. But each time they were close, GSA found another hitter. Hutchins, then Grego, then junior Aurora Simmons, kept up a relentless assault at the net. Woodland jumped ahead early in the third set, but it didn’t last. The Eagles took 18 of the last 24 points to close it out.
The win capped a remarkable season played with lofty goals.
“Making the finals last year and not graduating anyone creates its own expectations and spots for pitfalls,” GSA coach Jim Beaird said after the match. “The girls were mature and just took care of business. They were never late. They never missed practices. They helped the younger players. It's what you want from a senior-heavy team: to step up and be accountable and to raise the program.”
Packed bleachers of electrified fans rumbled as GSA took home a victory. Photo by Michael Colombo.
The win comes at a pivotal moment for GSA. As the institution plots a course for the next five years, one of the five priorities that the trustees have outlined in their strategic plan is deepening the school’s connection to the community. In the gym, fans close to the team came together to rally their Eagles to victory.
But back in Blue Hill, the Eagles’ connection to the community also came alive. As news spread of the championship win, fire trucks and residents from GSA’s seven sending towns gathered to escort the team back to campus in a celebratory procession. This victory may act as an example of deepening regional bonds through students themselves.
For Beaird, the five seniors who will graduate in 2027 are what the program, and the school, hope to produce, he said.
“It’s just one of those classes. They’re special,” he said. “They’re special on the court, and they’re even more special off the court. They’re leaders in community service; they’re leaders in the student body. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime class.”
