Dorman Boys Volleyball Wins Fourth Straight State Championship
By WORTHY EVANS
Contributing Writer
Columbia - If there is such a thing as a dynasty in the early years of boys volleyball in South Carolina sports, Dorman has become one.
With a 3-0 sweep of Carolina Forest Saturday at A.C. Flora High School, the Cavaliers won their fourth straight state championship, third straight state title sanctioned by the South Carolina High School League, and second straight 5A Division I crown.
The win for Dorman (31-0) was also the 73th straight victory of a streak dating to Sept. 16, 2023.
Head coach Andrew Copeland said that while the match goes down in the books as a 3-0 win, he recognized a lot of fight and talent on the Panthers side of the court.
“We knew that it was going to be a tough match,” Copeland said. “We knew that they were a scrappy team, so with their backs against the wall they were going to come out ready to play, ready to give us a little pushback, and so they got up on us but our guys they trust each other, they have a lot of grit, they have a lot of heart, they don’t want to lose this game, and so you saw that they responded later.”
Both teams battled evenly until in the final stretch Dorman won the last four points and closed out the set 25-18.
It was the second set where the Cavaliers main weapon, Lucas Helle, began to break the game open. Helle, a Long Beach State commit and opposite/outside hitter who also plays for the U19 national team peppered Carolina Forest with spikes and blocks.
“He is one of the best players in the state if not the country. He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Copeland said. “He is a one in a generation athlete and it is a blessing to have him not only because of his leadership but for his play as well. What he gives to this team is unmatched.”
Helle’s kills, along with Marcus McCullough-Bryant’s, pushed Dorman to a 25-17 win in the second set.
The Panthers (27-6-1) did a better job defending Dorman’s front-row hitters, but the Cavaliers finished the match with a 25-20 win in the third set.
Carolina Forest head coach Joe Goodwin, “Coach Goody” as he’s commonly known, is a former safety and football coach who later got into beach club volleyball in Myrtle Beach. He signed on to coach the Panthers in June, and since then he said it’s been a great ride.
“I’ve known these kids for years. It was exciting for me coming towards the tail end of my career to get to do this with this group of kids,” Goodwin said. “This was the goal from the beginning, to get here and win of course, but you had to get here. They did awesome. They got us here and we were a No.3 seed, which was not something we were used to so we had to get on the road, but the boys battled hard, and we lost to a great team. They’re obviously a great team for the past four years and No.1 in the country. But we’re holding our heads high as we leave and I’m proud of these guys.”
Dorman, ranked No.1 in the state and No.1 in the nation on MaxPreps graduates nine seniors. Most programs may consider the next year a rebuilding year, but Copeland, who openly remembered when he and his players “were literally celebrating getting three hits and getting it over the net” and comparing it to the present time, said he’s not worried about that.
“We have some guys on our bench who if they were at another school would be starters,” he said. “With the depth that we have across the board at every position, that’s what keeps our team competitive and playing at a high level, they know we have people right behind them that can compete.”
Both coaches are excited about the sports growth moving forward.
“We actually got our boys coaches association approved this summer,” Copeland said. “And so helping to spotlight and highlight some of the different athletes, we have to show the different opportunities they have to go play at the next level. It means getting more exposure to get not only more guys to join but also to get more people to the games to support them.”
Goodwin noted, “I moved to Myrtle Beach in my late 20s, and started playing beach volleyball, and it is just so much fun. I was a football coach at Myrtle Beach High School and ended my career as a volleyball coach. I never would have imagined it. But it’s just because of that reason that it’s going to grow. It’s just a matter of people, getting more kids out. Once they do it, they’re like this is great, this is awesome.”
