Socastee boys volleyball coach Gracie Hinson knew Saturday’s state championship match wasn’t going to be an easy one.
The Braves struggled out of the gate, dropping the first set. But Hinson made sure the team didn’t panic, and it responded.
Socastee won the next three sets, including coming from behind in the fourth one, to defeat Catawba Ridge, 17-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22, and win the Class 5A Division II state championship at AC Flora High School.
It is the program’s first state championship and its first title appearance. This is the fourth year of boys volleyball in South Carolina and third that has been a sanctioned championship sport by the SC High School League.
“I told them you know it wasn’t going to be a 3-0 match here,” Hinson said. “You knew we were going to have to fight. We lost to them in a tournament this year, and we knew it was going to be a tough match. So, I told them to go out, fight hard and be confident in yourselves.”
It was the second meeting between the two schools this year. Catawba Ridge defeated Socastee, 2-0, in a tournament on Sept. 20 and looked impressive in winning the first set on Saturday, 25-17.
The Braves regrouped and started playing with more confidence as the match progressed. Socastee jumped out to big leads in the next two sets, including 16-9 in the third set, and took a 2-1 lead.
The Braves looked relaxed and were enjoying the moment during the match, even dancing at times during timeouts.
Catawba Ridge had a good chance to force a deciding set and led 13-10. But Braves junior Bryson Smith helped start the comeback with a kill and a couple of blocks as the Braves took a 16-15 lead.
The lead grew to 21-17 before the Copperheads made one last push and got it to 22-20 on Cole Stukitz’s point. But Torren Dikes answered with a kill and the Braves ended up closing things out.
“It is something to be proud of from these boys,” Hinson said. “They worked their butts the entire season. We didn’t know what to expect coming into the season so it just shows the hard work they put in.”
This was Catawba Ridge’s second title appearance with the one coming in 2023 against Bishop England.
The loss was Catawba Ridge’s first in a best-of-five set match this season. The others came in tournaments and three were against state finalists Dorman and Carolina Forest.
Ross Lisee thought the momentum of the match turned in that second set, and his team, which has eight seniors, didn’t quite recover despite a strong fourth set.
“We just had some miscommunication out on the court,” Lisee said. “We had been facing some adversity as a team this week. There were certain pieces out of the lineup. We got pressed a little bit in that second set and weren’t able to respond. That’s when the match went south.
“But we have had a great season. … So proud of my guys. There is growth for sure that happened today, and that is all you can ask for.”
Dorman defeats Carolina Forest 5A Division I title
For the second time in three seasons, Carolina Forest’s championship hopes were ended by Dorman.
The nationally-ranked Cavaliers defeated the Panthers, 25-18, 25-17, 25-19, to win the Class 5A Division I boys volleyball championship. Dorman has won all three championships since the titles were sanctioned by the SCHSL and also won it in the trial year 2022.
Dorman has won 73 straight matches.
Carolina Forest lost to Dorman in the 2023 state championship and two previous meetings this season.
“We lost to a great team. Dorman is obviously a great team,” CF coach Joe Goodwin said. “But we are holding our heads high, and I am proud of these guys.”