BOILING SPRINGS, SC - On Monday afternoon, the first playoff games were held involving South Carolina boys' volleyball teams and the Boiling Springs Bulldogs were one of the first teams to participate in those playoffs.
The sport of boys' volleyball, which is still considered a club sport until officially recognized by the South Carolina High School League, is in its fourth year of existence in the state and Boiling Springs has been a part of the sport for all four of those years. "As part of the process to get the sport recognized by the high school league was to have a certain number of teams involved in the state and a playoff process," said Boiling Springs volleyball coach Allison Elliot. "This is our first year of the playoff process." Elliot said that the process of getting the sport recognized means so much to her and other coaches in the area because it gives an opportunity to play a sport for some kids that have never found their place in other sports offered at the school. "I think there are some kids that play and over the years have expressed interest in starting a team that we wanted to give them that opportunity," said Elliot. "While all kids of any sport are welcomed to play, we tend to have a lot of kids playing that aren't playing other sports. It has gotten kids that weren't participating in sports the opportunity to get involved with their school through athletics. We've learned over the years that when a kid gets involved in sports they tend to do better in school and in life overall which has been our goal all along." This season the Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team has been led by Coach Elliot's assistant on the girls' team Rachel Hyatt (her second year of coaching the team) and she says there is a big difference in coaching boys and girls in volleyball. "I'd say the biggest difference between the two is a type of attitude on the court as well as a difference to how they approach the game," said Hyatt. "Boys volleyball is a more physical game while girls' volleyball is more mental because girls have been playing the sport so much longer in this area. The guys make a mistake and they immediately get over it because they haven't had it engrained in them for years what they should have done while with girls you have a lot more technique." Elliot believes that now in the fourth year of boys' volleyball in the state that each year they're only getting one more step closer to it being a recognized sport by the high school league. "Each year the interest and talent has grown," said Elliot. "I believe when people come to watch the kids play they realize that these kids are actually pretty good and it's fun to watch. I definitely think as it continues to improve that more kids will get involved." Elliot says she understands the difficulties of making the sport a recognized sport but says her and the team have been lucky with the support they get from the leadership at the school and the district. "I understand the difficulties of finding when in the school year to schedule the season as well as funding the sport and finding coaches," said Elliot. "I've been very thankful with our district from our superintendent, principal, and athletic director that they've all been very supportive in making it work for the kids. I don't think anyone doesn't want it to work but it's all about making it work in the big picture of the sports world." In the match the Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team not only hosted their first playoff match but also came away with their first ever playoff victory as they defeated Lake Pointe 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16). After the victory the team says they feel good about their chances going forward throughout the rest of the playoffs. "We've seen Woodmont twice this year and our first time we hung with them pretty well," said Hyatt. "It was a close match that went to four sets and could have went either way. I think we have good chances if we play our best and work hard." The Boiling Springs team had 36 players on their team this season and while they're down some players this week Coach Elliot says seeing the number of players they have participating in the playoffs this week despite the school being in the middle of their spring break shows how dedicated these kids are to the sport. "We're in the middle of spring break this week and just having these kids committed enough to come play speaks volumes," said Elliot. "Our guys haven't been swept by any team this season and they know that they can beat anyone they come across in the playoffs. We keep seeing the talent improve over the last four years and our guys are now play club volleyball. I think people seeing this team being successful will only help the sport grow especially here at the school." Boiling Springs will continue their journey in the boys' volleyball playoffs when they travel to Woodmont on Wednesday for the second-round game that begins at 6:00 PM. Comments are closed.
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