Indian Land High School won the South Carolina High School League Class 4A boys volleyball state championship Saturday, Oct. 31, beating Lucy Beckham High School 3 to 1 in the state final.
Indian Land entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Upper State bracket. Lucy Beckham, from Mount Pleasant, was the No. 1 seed in the Lower State and had dropped only two sets in three playoff matches before the final.
The title gives the Lancaster County school a state championship in one of the newer sports on the SCHSL calendar, and it came after Indian Land needed five sets to get through each of its two previous matches.
A Quick Start
After a first round bye, Indian Land opened its playoff run Oct. 22 at home with a sweep of No. 7 Emerald. The scores were 25 to 10, 25 to 3 and 25 to 11.
Two Matches That Went the Distance
The next round brought a matchup with a neighbor. On Oct. 27, Indian Land faced No. 3 Catawba Ridge of Fort Mill and trailed two sets to one after Catawba Ridge took the first set 25 to 23 and the third 25 to 22. Indian Land won the second set 25 to 20, evened the match with a 25 to 16 fourth set and pulled away in the fifth, 15 to 6.
Two days later, Indian Land met Upper State top seed Riverside in the semifinals. The teams traded sets through four games. Indian Land won the first and third sets 25 to 20 and 25 to 21, while Riverside took the second 25 to 21 and the fourth 25 to 22. The deciding fifth set went past the usual 15 points before Indian Land closed it out 17 to 15.
The Final
Lucy Beckham reached the final by sweeping Bridges Prep, beating Hanahan 3 to 1 and then defeating Myrtle Beach 3 to 1 in the Lower State semifinal.
Indian Land took three of four sets in the championship match.
After the match, players and coaches posed at center court with the state championship trophy and an SCHSL sign marking the team as Class 4A state champions.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
