COLUMBIA – A three-set rally by the Socastee Braves downed the Catawba Ridge Copperheads in the 5A Division II state championship.
Socastee won 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 19-25, 22-25) after Catawba Ridge won the opening set.
“We had some miscommunication on the court,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Ross Lisee. “The guys fought through it. We got pressured in the second set and wasn’t able to respond. We had a great season. I’m proud of my guys. We had some growth today and that’s all you can ask for.”
The loss was Catawba Ridge’s first five set loss of the season, Lisee said. The Copperheads finished the season at 25-5-2.
Catawba Ridge was the home team in the match, but Socastee scored the opening point of the match.
The first set was close through the first 10-points, but Socastee took a small two-point lead at 7-5.
The lead was short lived as Catawba Ridge came back to go up 11-8 and kept a three-point lead for part of the set by using soft touches to catch the Braves off guard to score points. After a Socastee timeout, the Copperheads came out and scored four consecutive points to take a comfortable 19-10 lead forcing the Braves into unforced errors.
Catawba Ridge stretched their lead to 22-12, before the Braves scored three straight points. Socastee made it competitive, but the Copperheads held strong at the net and won the opening set 25-17.
The second set started out with the Copperheads going up early, but Socastee rallied to take a 6-3 lead as Catawba Ridge called timeout to slow their momentum.
Socastee picked up the intensity and held a small lead for most of the second set. Catawba Ridge kept it competitive, but struggled to put together runs as Socastee was able to place kills and get deflections off the Copperheads.
Socastee would hold control of the set and win 25-18 to tie the match at one.
Socastee jumped out to a 3-0 start in the third set. The Braves controlled the set, while Catawba Ridge struggled to keep pace.
The Braves pushed the lead to 11-4 when the Copperheads called a timeout. Socastee was able to counter nearly everything Catawba Ridge threw at them either in the form of a block or a return. Soft tips at the net also aided the Braves catching the Copperheads out of place.
Communication started to become an issue for the Copperheads as Socastee went up 20-13 before a Catawba Ridge timeout.
The Copperheads picked up the aggression at the net out of the timeout, but wasn’t able to make the run they needed. Socastee held on to win the set and go up 2-1 winning 25-19.
Despite losing two sets in a row, the Copperheads came out rejuvenated staring 5-1 before a Braves timeout.
Socastee put together a small run to keep it close, but it was the Copperheads that maintained the edge with big plays on cross-court kills.
Catawba Ridge went up 15-10, but Socastee rattled off four straight points to get back into the set leading to a Copperheads’ timeout.
Socastee tied the set at 16 and then scored four straight to go up 20-16 in the fourth set as Catawba Ridge again called a timeout.
While the Copperheads were able to slow the Socastee momentum, they weren’t able to stop it as the Braves won the fourth set to take the state title.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
