BOILING SPRINGS, SC - After competing in the sport for the last four years as a club sport, the Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team came away with a historic milestone on Monday night when they defeated Clover 3-0 for the first official victory in the program's history.
For the past four years the sport was considered a club sport in the state and just this past spring the South Carolina High School League made the sport an officially sanctioned sport in the state. "It's feels really good to see the guys pick up the first win in school history," said Bulldogs boys volleyball head coach Rachel Hyatt. "I'm very proud of how hard the guys have worked as we've only had about three weeks to get ready for the season. I couldn't be prouder of the guys for picking up their first win as some of these guys have wanted this for four years and now, they've accomplished that goal." One of the players that have been waiting on that long-awaited victory in a sanctioned boys' volleyball event is Bulldogs senior Tucker Walters, who has been a part of the team since he was an eighth grader. "It feels really good to accomplish this for everyone because this competition is a different level," said Walters. "I've been playing here since my eighth-grade year when the sport started as a club sport and now as a senior for it to be sanctioned there's a completely different vibe in the gym. Having all the students our here supporting us is just wonderful." Walters said the support level for the sport from the early days of being a club sport to now is a cool experience to see. "It's cool to be a part of this and seeing the students coming together here supporting us because before now I don't think they really took the sport seriously," said Walters. "To see the sport evolving now though I can't wait to see what it's going to be like 10 to 20 years from now. It's fun to see that and to be a part of history." Hyatt said that Walters is a player they know that they can rely on in every match and brings leadership to the team on the court. "Tucker is our key player on the court and can do pretty much anything we ask of him," said Hyatt. "He's been one of the biggest leaders I've seen in the three years that I've been here at Boiling Springs just as a player in general. He's a super respectful player but also a player that has a fire about him on the court." With the win Hyatt also goes down in history as the first coach to ever get a win as the boys' volleyball coach at Boiling Springs which she says is special but she's happier for the guys and their accomplishment. "It feels great and I'm happy to be a part of history," said Hyatt. "While I'm happy to be a part of it, I'm really happier for the guys because of how hard they've worked for this. I think this win sets us up for a good season." In the match the Bulldogs got their first ever point in school history when Ostel Thompson spiked a ball to the left back corner of the court off a set from Ben Mabry to tie the first set at 1-1. In the first set Boiling Springs put some distance between them and Clover when Luis Ojeda Murphy went on a five-point service run to stretch the Bulldogs lead to 13-8 over the Blue Eagles. The first set victory in Bulldogs boys' volleyball history came when Mark Zdenvich hit a ball that landed in the back right corner of the court for a 25-17 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match. In the second set of the match, the two teams had a pretty impressive feat as most matches end with the winner having a score of 25 but in the second set it took a score of 32-30 for the Bulldogs to win as neither team could close out the set as it took 13 extra games to win the set. Boiling Springs took a 31-30 lead when Thompson hit a spike kill that landed on the right side of the Clover court before the Bulldogs finished out the set with a 32-30 victory. "The 32-30 score in the second set isn't something you normally see in a volleyball match," said Hyatt with a laugh. "It's uncommon to see a score like that but to see the guys fight all the way back for the victory is awesome to see as we were going point-for-point with them throughout that set." In the third, and what turned out to be the final, set the Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead on a kill by Mabry. With the Bulldogs leading 19-16, Thompson got two straight ace serves to extend the lead to 21-16 before Murphy went on a three-point service run to finish the set as his final point deflected off a Clover player into the stands for a 25-17 victory, which also gave the Bulldogs their first ever match victory. While the Bulldogs picked up their first win on Monday night, they don't plan on it being their last and will look to improve to 2-0 on Wednesday night at home when they host Eastside starting at 6:00 PM. Comments are closed.
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