Shannon Forest wins SCISA AAA volleyball title with 4-set victory over Florence Christian
Crusaders rally after falling in first set
Columbia -- David Thompson didn’t worry when he watched his Shannon Forest volleyball
team come off the court after losing the first set against Florence Christian School in the SCISA 3A
state championship match. Instead, the Crusaders head coach had a little history in mind as the
match played out in the Cardinal Newman High School gymnasium on Tuesday.
“We told our girls after the first set that when our 2013 team won the state championship, they
lost Set 1, came back and won the next three. That was 10 years ago today,” Thompson said. “You’ve
got a chance to step up.”
They did. After being behind throughout the first set, Shannon Forest kept Florence Christian
off balance and won the critical second set, then took the third and fourth sets to close out a state
championship victory over the Eagles.
“These girls have got the hearts of a champion, you saw that in those last three sets,” Thompson
said. “We made some adjustments and did a nice job at executing, and got the state championship.
Job well done. It’s a great team from top to bottom. It’s been fun to coach them all year, and they
deserve this. They played really great.”
Florence Christian, which finished the year with a 26-6-1 record, opened up with aggressive kill
attempts from senior Bradley Brown and sophomore Jada Porter. It was enough for the Eagles to
close out a 25-21 win in the first set.
After the break, Florence Christian sophomore Susan Lee served to open the second set, but
Shannon Forest won that point. Sophomore Claire Bostrom served for the Crusaders, who finished
33-3-3, and they took a 7-0 lead before Florence Christian won its first point. The Eagles had some
opportunities to cut into that lead, but Shannon Forest held them off to secure a 25-15 win in the
second set.
“They’re a great team. They served to our weakness, and their serves were spot on,” Eagles
head coach Denise Carter said. “We missed out a lot on our serves. We just couldn’t get anything
going in that second set, and that made a difference.”
By the last two sets the Crusaders held a more confident look, especially after having returned
withering kill attempts from Brown, Porter, and others. Shannon Forest won the third set 25-19.
When Avery MacMeccan delivered the kill that ended the fourth set that also ended 25-19, the
Crusaders and their supporters rushed the floor.
“They were such a good team. They could just dig everything up,” said Megan McGovern, who is
one of two seniors on Shannon Forest along with Sophia Olive. “I think it’s because we were smart on
that net. We knew where to place it, I think that’s how we pulled it out.”
The Eagles, state runners-up to champion Spartanburg Christian in the AAA championship game
last year, ended this year as the runner up as well.
“We had a awesome season, I’m very proud of these girls,” Carter said. “No one expected us to be
here this year after losing the four players that we did, but these girls did great. I’m extremely proud of all
of them. They’re young and hopefully we’re gonna be back.”
Shannon Forest, which has a roster full of freshmen and sophomores, will likely be back as well. Thompson
said his young team learned a lot in this state championship meeting, and that knowledge may bode well
for future matchups.
“I’ve got to give credit to Florence Christian, they came out really well and played really well in
the first set, they punched us,” Thompson said. “But I told the girls after the first set we had to respond. We did
a nice job of responding thorough that adversity in the second set, and regrouping.”
About us
Recognizing the achievements of young athletes in South Carolina since 1986.