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Chiefs recover, blast way into Lower State volleyball finals

After dropping the opening set, North Myrtle Beach moves within one victory of reach the state finals
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NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA – Anyone who is associated with volleyball would agree that it’s a sport where momentum is huge and it can change in a hurry.

North Myrtle Beach let the opening set slip away and James Island had the advantage.

But the Chiefs roared back and dominated the next three sets to post a 26-28, 25-12, 25-18, 25-17 victory in their AAAA Lower State semifinal match.

North Myrtle Beach's Carlin Shape (left) and Chenel Gainey go for the block.

North Myrtle Beach's Carlin Shape (left) and Chenel Gainey go for the block.

“In practice, we work on starting down,” said Chiefs junior Carlin Sharpe. “We’ll lose a set and try to come back. I think it was all based on the energy we brought into the second set.”

And perhaps overcoming some nerves.

“We just needed to relax,” said North Myrtle Beach coach Alex Sing. “We were a little bit tight. We’ve got some young players who were a little bit nervous. ... I think once we relaxed and said, ‘hey let’s just do what we’ve been doing all season.’ If we did that, we were going to be fine.”

That’s how it played out as the Chiefs improved to 27-8-2 with their second victory over James Island this season - the two teams played in a tournament back in September. They will host Lucy Beckham next Tuesday with the winner advancing to the state championship match in Columbia.

North Myrtle Beach's Olivia Borgman serves in her team's victory over James Island.

North Myrtle Beach's Olivia Borgman serves in her team's victory over James Island.

James Island ended the season with a 27-10-2 record when it couldn’t sustain the promising start.

“North Myrtle Beach is a really good team,” said James Island coach Jason Yeates. “They fixed the errors they made on their side. We made some mistakes on our side and they capitalized on those mistakes.”

The visiting Trojans felt good, obviously, in the early going. They recovered from an 18-14 deficit and fended off three set points when the Chiefs served into the net. James Island finally prevailed on a Kali Young kill and a Hannah Silveston block.

“James Island, hats off to them,” Sing said. “They challenged us. They put us in some tough spots and we had to keep fighting. It wasn’t easy.”

North Myrtle Beach's Cara Cloninger blasts a kill.

North Myrtle Beach's Cara Cloninger blasts a kill.

The tone was set early in the second set. North Myrtle Beach scored the first three points and then led 10-4 on another spurt punctuated by two Kendal Scanlin aces. The lead quickly grew to double digits and Sharpe’s powerful kill ended it.

North Myrtle Beach had righted the ship.

“It’s just us taking a deep breath and calming down,” said sophomore Olivia Borgman. “We had to focus on playing our game. They had missed serve. That definitely helped us get back in the game.”

It was, indeed, a huge turnaround.

“In volleyball, momentum changes quickly, Yeates said. “They grabbed it and we weren't able to get it back.”

North Myrtle Beach assumed the lead early in the third set and never trailed. The Trojans made a fight of it, getting within 15-13 on a Young kill. But then a Sharpe kill and a block sandwiched around a James Island pushed the margin back to five. The Trojans couldn't get any closer.

The pattern repeated itself in the fourth and final set. James Island trailed 13-11 when the Chiefs went on a 5-0 run that featured consecutive Borgman aces. James Island never got closer and it was all over when Railyn Fowler hit a blistering kill.

That put North Myrtle Beach close to some familiar territory. With the state finals on the line, the Chiefs will be playing another team they beat earlier in the season in Lucy Beckham.

Sing guided North Myrtle Beach to consecutive state championships in 2018 and 2019 before stepping away for two years.

“I felt going like we had a shot,” Sing said. “We have to take advantage of our opportunities when we can. We wanted to play in some good tournaments and we played good teams. We played River Bluff, Nation Ford, Mauldin, schools like that. That helped us get where we are.”

Izzy Harris