When I was the Boy’s age, I had no interest in guitar. When I was the Girl’s age, my conception of volleyball was limited to what we played in gym class.
The Boy and I played guitar tonight for a while. The Girl went to sign documents for her fourth club season.
My life as a kid and theirs could not be more different in many ways. And that’s a good thing.
From our local paper:
Mauldin volleyball tops Lexington to win 1st volleyball state championship in school history
COLUMBIA –– With the first volleyball state championship in Mauldin High School history within the Mavericks’ grasp, Jurnee Robinson refused to let up.
It was the third set and her team led Lexington 2-0. Robinson slid to save a ball that nearly fell out of bounds. It would’ve given Lexington a point, then she dove for another dig to keep a ball alive, allowing Mauldin to get a point and take an 11-5 lead in the set.
As she huddled with her teammates when the play was over, she pointed at them and smiled.
She knew ‒ they all knew ‒ that history was within reach.
Saturday night at Dreher High School in Columbia, Mauldin volleyball made about as much history as possible, adding to an already historic season. The Mavericks pummeled Lexington in a three-set sweep, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 to win the first volleyball state championship in school history.
“It’s amazing,” Robinson, the Mavericks leader with 25 kills Saturday, said. “I feel like people have always doubted Mauldin volleyball and for us this year to win it, win it all after we didn’t start off too strong … it feels good.”
It was Mauldin’s first appearance in the state championship match after Tuesday was the program’s first volleyball state semifinal win. The Mavericks are also the first Greenville County public school to win a volleyball title since Hillcrest in 2013.
“It’s kind of hard to put all the words together and make them all make sense at one time,” Mauldin coach Val Thoms told reporters. “But holy crap, is it awesome.”
Mauldin’s dominant run ends with history
Mauldin volleyball was swept last season in the third round by Dorman, last season’s Class AAAAA state champions. The Mavericks beat Dorman in four sets to get to the state title game – and the process of building up Mauldin’s program to a state title winner, Thoms said, has been different each season.
“It’s been a process,” Thoms said. “Each year we get better and then its’, ‘how can we keep getting better and how do we learn and grow …’ And each year it’s been a different type of lesson to learn.
“The process (to get here) has been challenging but has been very rewarding.”
Mauldin finished its season with a 32-7 overall record and a region championship. The Mavericks only dropped one set in the entire postseason, which came in the Upper State Championship against Dorman.
“Just coming together, working as a team on and off court,” Robinson said. “It just takes everything … it’s not just about playing volleyball, it’s a team effort.”
Lexington struggles to contain Mauldin offense
Mauldin got out of the gates in the first set with a 6-2 lead. Robinson had 11 kills in the first set, but Lexington tied it at 11-11 before Mauldin finished off the Wildcats in the first set by running off six straight points to lead 17-11 and then take the set 25-22.
It set the tone for an impressive match by Mauldin. The Mavericks seemed to do little wrong and Lexington struggled to stop the Maverick offense. Despite Lexington showing a lot of fight, Mauldin never trailed until the Wildcats took a 11-10 lead in the second set ‒ it was the only time that Mauldin trailed in the match.
Senior Anna Schneider tallied eight kills, sophomore Sarina Galyean had 11 kills. Robinson and Schneider each had 13 digs, senior libero Ella Leister had 12, as well. The team’s fourth senior, Allison Norris, had six digs.
“It feels great, you know,” Robinson said. “We’ve been working for this for so long.”
Greeville News
Very proud of our girl and her team. More to come later. But for now — the moment I could watch over and over…
It’s All Souls’ Day, so visiting Nana’s and Papa’s grave is of course in order. We would have visited yesterday but for the fact that the Girl was playing in the state semifinals, and our whole evening was a tangle.
Their win made the local paper:
Mauldin volleyball tops Dorman, wins first Upper State Championship in program history
For the first time in school history, Mauldin volleyball will play in the SCHSL state championship game.
The words that described what it felt like were hard to find, Mauldin volleyball coach Val Thoms said as her team celebrated on the court.
But there is one word to describe what Mauldin volleyball did Tuesday night:
Historic.
At home inside the Mauldin High School gymnasium the Maverick girls volleyball team defeated powerhouse Dorman 3-1 to win the Class AAAAA Upper State Championship and advance to the SCHSL state championship game for the first time in program history.
Mauldin plays the winner of Wando and Lexington — the Lower State champion — at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dreher High School in the state title game.
Students, coaches and parents swarmed the court as soon as the final point was scored.
“It’s phenomenal,” Mauldin senior Jurnee Robinson said. “We’ve been trying for this the past four years. We just feel like now is our time and we’re going to win it. We’re going to give it all we got.”
Mauldin senior Anna Schneider said it was important for her team to finally get past the Cavaliers, who swept their postseason competition en route to the AAAAA state championship last season. That included a third-round playoff win over the Mavericks (31-7).
“It’s so surreal,” Schneider said. “It was so great playing on our home court, that meant so much to us. Those long years that we’ve lost to them … it really means a lot to get over this hump and be a great team.
“It just means so much. I literally can’t put it in to words.”
Robinson set the tone early and throughout the match. Her six kills in the first set allowed the Mavericks to take the set 25-18. The LSU volleyball commitment and 2021 all-state selection had 485 kills entering Tuesday’s state semifinal match and finished with 28 kills. Schneider had 15 kills.
After winning the first set, Mauldin dropped the second, 25-21, and Dorman (31-6) seemed to rebound well. But Mauldin took the third set and then won the fourth set, 25-19, to clinch the win. Dorman was led in kills by Carly O’Brien, who had 14 total in the match.
“We just told them, just be patient,” Thoms said she told her team after dropping the second set. “And we have to serve the ball in more, pass a little better out of serve-receive and then when were in system … we can’t be stopped. So, just take a couple deep breaths … and win it with our offense.”
Last season, Dorman defeated River Bluff to win the AAAAA state championship for the first time since 2017. Paula Kirkland, Dorman’s legendary volleyball coach, has 14 state titles as head coach at Dorman and is one of two volleyball coaches in SCHSL history to win over 1,000 matches.
“It’s really kind of indescribable to be honest,” Thoms said. “I think its what this program needs – and what volleyball in this area needs. Because, Dorman is the name … I just think this proves; it doesn’t matter. We just go out, do your thing, be good athletes and anybody can beat anybody.”
Greenville News
It puts yesterday’s win in perspective.
In the evening, the Boy and I went swimming, taking one of his friends with us.
Despite battling illness and the MaxPreps top-ranked volleyball player in South Carolina, River Bluff pushed Mauldin to the limit in each of their 3 sets during Thursday’s Upper State Semifinal AAAAA State Playoff match. A mere 7 points separated the two teams in the 3 sets. Still, the Mavericks proved just a little too much for the Gators.
While all three sets saw numerous lead changes, River Bluff’s points seemed to come with more difficulty. When all was said and done, fans had been treated to a match between two of the best volleyball teams in the state. In fact, one could easily argue that the state’s top four AAAAA teams were competing in Thursday’s Upper State semifinals. While River Bluff’s season ended prematurely for Gator fans, the team can rest somewhat comfortably knowing they were a part of this elite group.
River Bluff Athletics
The Girl’s team went into tonight as the underdogs. Facing River Bluff, the number 1 seed in the state, our girls were ranked fourth. Add to it the fact that River Bluff had already beaten us twice this year and it’s easy to see why Mauldin was not the favorite.
On the River Bluff athletic’s page, they posted a short story about it today:
River Bluff hopes to continue their playoff drive tonight as they travel to Mauldin for a matchup between two number 1 seeds. While the two programs are quite similar, River Bluff won both of the matches between the two programs earlier in the season in close 2-set sweeps.
River Bluff Athletics
They even included stats about the previous games, and even though the first chart of team-scoring averages seemed to favor Mauldin, they still had beaten us in both meetings, by the same scores, in fact.
My thought was that we had to win that first set. That seemed like a non-negotiable. Early on we were up by four or more, but then River Bluff came back. It went back and forth until Mauldin broke free and won 25-22.
“River Bluff will be out for blood now,” I thought, and they were indeed. They led most of the second set, and when it was 18-22, I thought we might not be able to recover. But we did, taking the second set 27-25.
“The River Bluff girls are broken now,” I told K. I didn’t mean that they were going to fall apart but simply that while they could have brushed off a first-set loss, a second-set loss would sting all the more. I thought one thing would be running through the River Bluff girls’ heads: had this been a best-of-three set game like in most tournaments, it would have been over.
The third set was close, but in the end, our girls swept them with a 25-23 win in the final set. The reaction was amazing, first from the girls, then from the students watching:
The River Bluff girls were heartbroken, with several of them just in tears. “I saw,” L said, “it was kind of sad.” That’s just the nature of sports, though. Someone has to win; someone has to lose. And after our rough club season earlier this year, I am so glad to see our Girl winning like this.
A couple of L’s friends from another high school — the high school we’d beaten to be regional champions — came to cheer Mauldin on. The three of them played club together this year, and they’re happy for L as well.
“That’s the number one team in the state!” I said to one of the girls. Her expression grew serious as she clarified, “Not anymore.”
Indeed.
Next up — Dorman. Last year, they beat Mauldin in the quarter-finals. Time for some revenge…
Tonight the Girl’s high school volleyball team’s quest for the state championship continued with a victory over Byrnes High School.
“It shouldn’t be any problem,” the Girl said offhandedly. “We’ve beaten them three times already this year.”
When the first set began, though, the girls from Byrnes seemed intent on telling a different story. They went back and forth, staying within a point of each other until the girls from Byrnes eased ahead: 12-13. Then 13-14. And 15-16. And 16-17. They just maintained that one-point lead, which is nothing to worry about, but if a one-point lead extends to a two- or three-point lead as they near 20, it becomes more problematic. 18-19, and I began to wonder.
Finally, the girls leveled it out at 19-19, and L rotated into server. She sent one skimming over the top of the net and the Byrnes girls struggled to receive it, and they were forced to pass it over with a free-ball. Our girls made quick work of it: 20-19. L served again. The Byrnes girls set their outside hitter, but our right side and middle were there and stuff the ball back to make it 21-19. Then L hit an ace for 22-19. Byrnes at this point called time out, but our girls were on a roll. L served again, and we won the point. 23-19. The Girl sent a shot that skipped off the top of the net and dropped among the defenders for set point: 24-19. Finally, L served for set. The Byrnes girls received it, set their hitter, and our libero took it easily, passing it to the setter. We all knew who was getting the ball: she’s a senior, the most powerful hitter, and team leader. The set went to Journee, sent a lightening ball into Byrnes’ court. It had ricocheted off the floor and was well above the girls’ heads before they knew what hit them.
This Thursday, they have their most important game of the season: they face River Bluff, who has beaten them twice this year. However, the Girl’s team has beaten teams that beat River Bluff, so it’s far from clear who will win.
We’ll find out soon enough.
As of tonight, it’s official: the Girl’s varsity volleyball team are region champions. We didn’t play a game to settle it: it was a matter of whether another team lost or not. Technically, it wasn’t: our team was forced to forfeit against Woodmont because of having played too many games this season. (Apparently, that’s a rule.) If Woodmont had won tonight, they would have had the same record as Mauldin but because of the forfeit score (three sets of 25-0), they would have won because total points come into play in the event of a tie.
We’d played Woodmont earlier this year, and as with every other regional game, our girls took the game in straight sets. We would have undoubtedly done it again last Thursday were the girls not forced to forfeit, and honestly, everyone in the region probably realizes this as well: our girls are that good.
And so we’re into the playoffs, with the hope of winning the state championship in three weeks.
Does a win count as a win if an outside power forces a team to forfeit? Does the loss count as a loss? Do the standings afterward in any way reflect reality?
The varsity girls won in straight sets tonight. Again.
It was senior night, though, so there were a few more students there than usual.
The Girl’s team played Woodmont High today — where three of her former teammates play. Mauldin is the team to beat right now, and when the home team went up four points on us, the crowd was going wild.
Then our girls got their act together and won by four points.
There’s always a bit of an advantage, I think, being the underdog on the home court. You really have nothing to lose, and if you hype yourself up enough (and you actually have the skills), you can convince yourself you can win. And then when you are winning, when it looks like you might pull off an upset (at least one set), your confidence soars. Until you start making mistakes, the favorites start coming back, and you start doubting yourself.
So Mauldin came from behind to win the first set 25-21, and in the second set, they did what I believe they felt they’d do the first set: they won 25-15. The third set was 25-18 or something like that, but they came close to losing the first set due to underestimating the opposition.
“Plus,” the Girl explained, “everyone thinks we’re the team to beat, so they play their best against us.”
After a tough club season last year, it’s good to see the Girl winning again.
I try to support my students by attending one of their sporting events. Tonight, I watched the girls play a volleyball game.
So very different from the volleyball I’ve become accustomed to. Beginners are fun to watch, but they can be sadly predictable with the occasional lack of skill. It’s all part of the learning curve, no doubt.
L’s high school team won a local tournament with about 12 teams competing.
The Girl has been sidelined for three weeks with a badly-sprained ankle. She did physical therapy the entire time, and last week she was hoping to get the go-ahead to return to play. Instead, her therapist told her, “You can return to practice, but don’t play.”
She was heartbroken.
Tonight was her first night back. It was their first region game — all the other teams they’ve been playing have been out of region. They won in three straight sets: 25-6; 25-15; 25-17. Or all-told, 75-38, just under a 2-1 scoring ratio.
The Girl got to play about 1.5 sets. She indicated she was pleased with how things went, but I know she wanted more, wanted to do better. Still, after three weeks of not playing, she did a fantastic job. And as always, hers were the loudest cheers on the team.
The Boy’s first games with his new soccer team took place today. It was a tough start to the season: 0-4 and 0-5 losses. I was expecting him to be terribly disappointed about it, but he was surprisingly stoic: “We have some things we need to fix, but we could be good.”
The Girl’s high school varsity team, for which L plays middle, won their first tournament today.
A day of contrasts.
Going to the convention center where all games took place, we traveled on Interstate 4. No matter the time of day, it looked like this:
Driving back from Orlando today, I got to thinking again about the writing project I’ve been considering, and I came up with yet another organizational idea for it. Indeed, not just another organizational idea, but a somewhat altered focus. So two initial drafts get shoved aside for a third. Fortunately, I was only a few thousand words into the other two drafts, so there’s no real loss there. I’m excited about the new approach and began jotting notes on my phone as I took the dog for a walk.
But the whole way, I think the Girl relived the highlights of competing in nationals.
Our first experience with nationals is now over. The Girl’s team finished 124th place out of 200+ teams. That’s not great, but it’s not terrible.
It represents the end of a strange volleyball season, one of several ups and downs, thrills and disappointments. The Girl improved a lot, both in her sense of court real estate (knowing and moving around the area of the court in a smart, effective manner) and ball handling.
The end of this year brings a bit of sadness with it, as do all endings. In this case, it’s due to the fact that it’s very unlikely these girls will play together again. Everyone will be going their separate ways from here. Since they don’t go to high school together, they’ll probably be opponents if they’re on the volleyball court again.
So the third year of L’s club play is officially behind us, and what lies ahead? The Girl has big hopes, big dreams. She wants to come back to nationals and win it — or at least place in the top ten. She wants to play college ball, using her academic success with her academic skill to work her way through college.
In the end, though, the true friendships, whether among players or their families, will always last.
Another day, more games, more frustration. It’s tough watching the girls not doing their best, but there’s something admirable in their effort, no doubt.
