SCHSL Volleyball Championships

SCHSL Volleyball Championships

By: Worthy Evans

Contributing Writer

AAAAA 

Woodmont takes crown in battle of the ‘W’s

The hard-hitting Woodmont Wildcat volleyball team clashed with a Wando Warrior team hungry for its first state championship since 2020 Saturday night at Dreher High School.

While the Warriors took the first set, the Wildcats (41-2) grinded out three straight sets to for the 3-1 victory and a AAAAA state championship to go with last year’s AAAAA Division Two title.

“When you look at our season compared to last year, it’s so similar, but we were just so much more consistent,” Head coach Haleigh Horgan said. “The fact that they wanted more, I’m so incredibly proud of them.”

Horgan added that this year’s effort through a tough region and four intense in-season tournaments arose from a personal tragedy. Horgan lost her father before the Wildcats’ season began.

“He was my best friend, my biggest fan,” she said. “He was sitting in the stands (last year), and it’s just tough. I came back to the girls and they just said we’re going to do it again. And I said of course you are, you were meant to be there. This senior class, you couldn’t ask for a better senior class.”

Wando (37-6) built a 13-9 lead in the first set and closed it out strong with a 25-19 finish.

The second set was hotly contested, with the Warriors and Wildcats exchanging leads seven times. A Woodmont kill late in the set gave the Wildcats a 20-19 edge.

From that moment, Diana Gonzalez’ ace, and Avri Broughton’s kill gave Woodmont a 22-19 lead, and a short time later Wando hit a ball out of bounds for Woodmont’s 24^th point, and another Broughton kill gave the Wildcats the match point in a 25-20 win.

With the game tied 1-1, Woodmont powered by Riley Gross at service powered to an 8-0 lead. The Wildcats held a 19-11 advantage, but Wando rallied hard and cut the deficit to 22-21. The Wildcats held down the rally enough to win 25-22 on another Wando ball that landed out of bounds.

In the fourth set Woodmont built a 12-9 lead and carried it to a 22-17 advantage before Wando cut that lead to 24-22. On match point the Warriors could not get a ball over the net and the Wildcat players rushed the floor in celebration.

“I think Wando is just an incredibly talented team and they were giving us their best,” Horgan said. “That’s what I told my team. In the first set when we lost I told them that they were giving you their very best, and I said we have to push back on them a little bit. So after that third set I said you’re right there, no more after this.”

Wando, was looking to add to its seven state championships, the last one coming in 2020. Woodmont proved too stubborn a team to go down.

“I’m super proud of the team and I’m proud of our seniors too,” Warriors head coach Alexis Glover said. “We’ve had a long hard battle to get here, and I know they’re super upset right now, but they’ve got to understand that there’s just two of us left, it’s still a big honor to come in second and hat’s off to Woodmont, I thought they played really well.” 

AAAA

Bengals stop Nation Ford to win team’s first state title

By WORTHY EVANS

The Nation Ford volleyball team was well on its way to winning its third state championship in school history, having won back-to-back sets after dropping the first set to Lucy Beckham.

The Bengals had a different idea. Lucy Beckham, powered by hitters Aubrey Branham, Avery Sauer, Sophie McCain and others, stopped the Falcons’ momentum and won the fourth set, then won the tiebreak to secure the school’s first AAAA volleyball state championship Saturday at Dreher High School.

“We have a team of believers,” head coach Adria Elliott said. “They’re such a joy to coach, they all want to get better, they all come in every day and try to do something different to challenge themselves and they push each other so much. I know there a lot of individual accolades in volleyball it’s just such a team sport and they truly, truly believe that.”

The Bengals (35-6) won the first set 25-18, but Nation Ford (30-5), which won state titles in 2010, 2018, and 2019, settled in and won the second set 25-23 and third set 25-22.

The Falcons gained a slight advantage in the fourth set and held a 12-10 lead before Lucy Beckham reversed its fortune. The Bengals rallied to a 17-14 lead and held on to close out a 25-21 set victory as Nation Ford servers hit the net several times and its hitters overhit volleys out of bounds.

“We lost some focus on our serves, but we’re an aggressive serving team and we win or lose on that a lot,” Nation Ford head coach Craig Brown said. “But give some credit to Lucy Beckham for the pressure they put on us.” 

In the fifth set Lucy Beckham evened the score at 3-3 and won four straight points for a 7-3 lead. The Bengals kept on track and won the tiebreak 15-7 for the victory. 

Nation Ford loses four seniors but Craig said that their teammates will work to fill in what is lost.

“The players are going to go to work in their club season and they’ll hit the weights during the offseason,” he said. “We’ll come back to it in the summertime and come back strong.”

Lucy Beckham loses just two seniors. Those remaining have a good understanding about what the championship this year means to the program, Elliot said.

“It’s been seven years and we’ve been losing in the lower state almost every year,” Elliott said. “It was just amazing (to win). I just felt like we’re such a well-rounded team. We weren’t one-sided in anything, they just pushed through and they did their job out there. We talk about composure all the time in practice and also in games. We were built for tough moments and while I knew we were getting down on ourselves, I looked at them and said we have to believe. I believe you are the better team out there, just show them that you are, and they did.” 

AAA

Oceanside Collegiate takes out Powdersville in three sets

By WORTHY EVANS

The third straight year in the state finals proved to be the charm for Oceanside Collegiate.

That, and a first-year coach who breathed new life into a volleyball program that already was one of the best in the state.

Allie Siebert took up where former head coach Jennifer Fort, who led the team to a state championship in 2021, left off and brought the Landsharks right back to the state final.

Powdersville bested Oceanside for back-to-back state championships in 2024-2025, but under Siebert Thursday night at Dreher High School, the Landsharks took out the Patriots in three straight sets. 

“We prepared for this. We knew it was going to be a tough team, we knew it was going to be point-for-point so we were ready,” Siebert said. “We talked a lot about this game in preparing for this moment, that we’ve been here before, and we’re going to rely on our game and focus on us and not worry about anything else.”

Oceanside (26-1) worked quickly and aggressively at the net, winning the first set 25-19 and then the second set 25-16.

On the third set, Powdersville (32-5) led 9-2 and later 12-7, but the Landsharks gradually crept back. Oceanside pulled even at 15-15 as Poppy Boylston served, then tied the set at 18-18 with a Payton Moorman kill. Another kill from Amiyah Stevens gave the Landsharks a 19-18 advantage, and they continued to hammer away at the nets. Another Moorman kill brought the game to match point, and another Stevens kill closed out the win and clinched the team’s first title since 2001’s AA crown. 

“We definitely wanted to get back at them,” Moorman said. “I think all of our chemistry is still the same but with a new coach it definitely helped us do better.” 

What Siebert said helped the team a lot was to be reminded that the postseason brings about tougher matches, and in the thick of action the team has to focus on each other more.

“They’re going to be point-for-point, there’s going to be times when they’re down, but we prepared for this,” Siebert said. “It was a tough match but we expected it to be that way and so we were ready for it.” 

Powdersville head coach Brooke Passini surmised that her team was not ready. 

“I think we took a few things for granted this year for being here last year,” Passini said. “And not a single one of our players had a good game tonight, to be honest with you, and they would tell you the same thing.”

She added that Powdersville had won eight consecutive games in straight sets, and that streak may have set the team up for 

“We did have a tough schedule, but these past few games we didn’t lose a set,” she said. “It’s hard when you do lose a set when you haven’t done it in a while to really bounce back mentally and I think that’s what hurt us in this game.”

Passini, whose team won five state titles in the school’s history, added that the team shouldn’t be disappointed.

“I don’t want tonight to define their season. They had a great season and I’m so proud of them,” she said. “I hate it for our seniors because they’ve given so much to this program. I hate that they had to go out like this, but knowing that they made it to state, it’s not too shabby of a year.”

AA 

Philip Simmons takes second straight crown

By WORTHY EVANS

In its first state championship appearance, the Liberty volleyball team did everything it could to get past 2A defending champion Philip Simmons Saturday night at Dreher High School. 

The Iron Horses edged Red Devils in the first set, but Liberty stayed ahead of Philip Simmons in the third set and downed them 25-15. While Liberty led briefly in the fourth set, the championship-seasoned Iron Horses controlled the late volleys and closed out a 25-19 win to secure a 3-1 victory for its second straight AA state championship. 

“I’m so lucky that we brought back six of our seven starters from last year, they’ve been playing together for three and four years,” an exasperated Philip Simmons head coach Jay Watterworth said walking off from the awards ceremony. “Honestly, the biggest thing I did this year was get the heck out of the way and just let them play and I just gave them the encouragement when they needed it.” 

The six seniors on the team have gone through back-to-back state championship losses before winning the team’s first title last year and closing out their Iron Horses careers with Saturday’s title win. 

While new to competition in the finals, Liberty did not shy from challenging the Iron Horses on every volley. Philip Simmons led slightly throughout the first set before closing out a 25-22 win. 

The Iron Horses eventually built a 15-8 lead in the second set, but before they could add to it Liberty pulled even and led 16-15 as Natalie White served. 

Philip Simmons closed down the rally as Maribelle Macatol served for the Iron Horses, taking a 19-17 lead. As Sarah Ryan served, Philip Simmons went from a 21-18 lead to a 24-19 lead and scored the match point when Liberty blockers’ effort trapped the ball in the net. 

Red Devils server Reagan Swofford got her team off to a 4-1 lead on Philip Simmons in the third set and with timely hitting from Swofford, Kobi Wilson, Claire Bivens, and others, Liberty stayed alive. 

In the fourth set, both teams battled through six lead changes in the first half of action. Liberty tied the set at 13, but Philip Simmons scored three straight points and kept that cushion the rest of the way to set up Catherine Futche’s ace that closed the set and sealed the win for the Iron Horses.

When asked to compare the feeling of winning this year versus last year’s championship win over Landrum, he noted, “Exact same. It’s just euphoria, this is something we’ve been working for ever since I got the job, and I don’t say any one (championship) feels any better than the other. It’s just awesome to win.” 

While Liberty was on the losing side of Saturday night’s action, the team’s poise in the grittiest part of the action indicated that the Red Devils’ first state title appearance won’t be their last. 

“These girls just don’t have any quit in them. They are so resilient and so gritty, and they love to play together, and they have no quit,” Liberty head coach Carla Simpson said. “Several games this season we have had to fight back, against St. Joes, the battle of West-Oak, we fought back after a first-set loss against MVP (Mountain View Prep). These girls just won’t quit. They always know that if the other team doesn’t have 25, they still have a chance. That’s what make them so great.” 

A D1 

North takes out Buford for 2^nd title in three years

By WORTHY EVANS

The North Central volleyball team visited Dreher High School Saturday afternoon and about 90 minutes after they took the court, the Knights walked out of the gymnasium holding their second state championship in three years. 

North (25-3) took out Buford (16-7) in three straight sets to win the single-A Division 1 state championship with relative ease. 

“We did our homework as far as preparing for Buford, head coach Andy Johnson said. “We talked about some tendencies that we’ve seen and had them prepared as far as the match along with the distractions of it being a state championship. We settled in a little bit as far as doing our routine, and I’m just glad that we came out on top.”

North took the first set quickly with a 25-15 finish. In the second set, the Knights led 12-10 midway through the second set, but after Buford narrowed it to 12-11, North stretched its lead to 17-11 with Kara Grace McManus serving and Ella Tucker making three kills on the run. North Central closed out the set 25-11 for a 2-0 lead. 

The Yellow Jackets fought hard in the third set, pulling even four times, but both teams erred with net serves while North Central hitters kept on killing. Catie Bittner ended the set and match with a kill for a 25-21 set win and a completion of the sweep.



“It was kind of rough, we had to work to become more together and not work selfishly,” Buford head coach Adrianna Bowers said. “The girls really put in the work this year and started trusting in each other’s abilities, and that’s what really drove them to play for each other and play for the seniors.”

A D2

Branchville earns first title since 2019

By WORTHY EVANS

Two familiar volleyball rivals battled out their differences in the single-A Division 2 state championship match. The Governor’s School For Science and Math team took the first and third sets, and Branchville won the second and fourth sets.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Eagles rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 10-5 lead on the Yellow Jackets, getting four service points from Elon Mack and a kill from Eliza Privette. 

When Branchville came out of a timeout at 10-5, the Yellow Jackets took control, winning 10 out of the next 11 points to win the set 15-11, win the match 3-2, and capture the team’s first state championship since 2019.

“They were determined. They put in a lot of hard work and just wanted it a lot,” first-year head coach Kelsey Hackworth said. “They kept pushing and I kept telling them to speak it out, that we’re going to get it. They kept encouraging each other with positive talk and we made it happen.”

Branchville (19-3) and GSSM (14-4) met in the final match in 2018. That year the Eagles topped the Yellow Jackets for the state crown. Branchville has made seven state title appearances, winning in 2016 and 2019. 

GSSM took an early lead in the first set, but Branchville rallied to even the score at 15. With Privette serving, the Eagles took an 18-16 lead and eventually closed out the first set 25-21.

In the second set, GSSM led 4-1, but the Yellow Jackets took control and led the rest of the way to a 25-19 win. (the moment coach Hackworth talked about)

The third set was all Eagles, who took a 10-3 lead and kept ahead of Branchville for a 25-16 win and a 2-1 advantage. 

With their backs to the wall, the Yellow Jackets responded in the fourth set from a 5-1 deficit to a 25-15 win that forced the final set. GSSM held a five-point advantage, but Branchville rallied and closed out the championship victory in dominating fashion.

“We have three seniors. I’m losing my libero, one of my outside hitters, and a really good dominant server,” Hackworth said. “But we still have a bunch of underclassmen, a few sophomores, a few freshmen, who are going to dominate too and make up for what we’re losing.”

GSSM coach Hugh O’Connor said the teams’ familiarity with each other fed into the tough play.

“We expected it. That’s a very good ball team, well coached. It just didn’t go our way today.” O’Connor said. “I look forward to next year, I hope I can bring the team back (to the final) and play Branchville again. We’ve faced each other numerous times, sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it goes their way.”