The Chesnee Eagles volleyball team went on the road in the third round of the AAA playoffs on Wednesday night and fell 3-0 to the defending state champions Powdersville Patriots.
The Patriots jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set but the Eagles were able to get a kill from Kaitlyn Barrett to briefly stop the Powdersville momentum. After a back and forth battle throughout the remainder of the set the Patriots were able to claim the first set 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Chesnee jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second set before Powdersville used a 10-2 run to answer back and carried that advantage to a 25-10 win. In the third set Powdersville jumped ahead with an 8-2 run but a service run by the Eagles Holly Hines brought the set to a tie. Powdersville quickly responded though and went on a sixteen service point run themselves winning the set 25-12 and the match. AC Yelton led Chesnee with sixteen assists while Abbey Ray led the team with six kills. Shelby Harris and Kaitlyn Barrett both had big nights in digs for the Eagles as Harris led the way with fifteen and Barrett followed close behind with eleven of her own. While the loss means the end of the season for the Eagles it also means they will be saying goodbye to some key seniors on this team as Abbey Ray, Shelby Harris, Anna Sullivan, Danielle Cooley, Alyssa Robinson, and assistant coach Blake Scruggs all will be missed next season for Chesnee. ''We are really going to miss them,” said Chesnee head coach Katie Jolley. “They showed alot of leadership and they worked hard. Those girls set a standard for what the team needs to be." While the Eagles will hate to see these seniors go they will also have a lot to look forward to next season as they will be returning Jessa Beach, Karlee Swaney, Kaitlyn Barrett, Aly Scruggs, AC Yelton, Shenandoah Bishop, and Holly Hines to the 2020 Eagles volleyball team. "I'm excited about next year,” said Jolley. “Our program is growing and learning and we just want to keep getting better. Last year we finished second and this year we won our region. We look to keep building on that success.” After two days of competition the Chesnee Eagles golf team left the Hackler Golf Course in Conway, SC with a second place finish after shooting an impressive overall score of 613 and was only bested by Oceanside Academy that shot a remarkable 582 as a team, which was six shots over par as a team.
While the finish was one spot short of the Eagles overall goal it was still a great finish to an amazing season for Chesnee in which they won many big tournaments including the Rebel Invitational to start the season and winning the 3A Upper State championship just last week. Chesnee got big performances in the state tournament from both Isabella Britt who finished second overall and Sydney Roberts who finished fourth for the Eagles. With the performance both Britt and Roberts were named to the 3A All-State team as Britt finished with a final score of 139 (72, 67) over the two days and finished just one shot behind medalist Emma Schimpf from Oceanside. Roberts was just four shots out of the lead herself as she finished with a two day total of 142 (69, 73) and just one shot behind third place Rachel Rich from Oceanside. Both finishes cap off an impressive season for both golfers. While this tournament ends their 2019 season the Eagles will now turn their focus to 2020 and hope to build on the success from this season. The Chesnee volleyball team swept the Camden Bulldogs 3-0 to advance to the third round of the AAA playoffs on Monday night.
"It feels good because it's my senior year and I want to make the best of it,” said Chesnee senior Anna Sullivan. “We want to push until the end as a team." Camden jumped out to the initial lead in set one and was able to extend their lead to two on two different occasions. The Eagles were able to finally take control of the first set when they regained the lead at 12-11 and they closed the set on a 15-4 run to win 25-15. "When we are aggressive we can take teams out of their system and that's what we tried to do,” said Chesnee coach Anna Sullivan. “We were aggressive with our serves and our hitting and it made it to where they couldn't run their system as effectively." Chesnee quickly took control of the second set as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the early going. Anna Sullivan served six consecutive points to give the Lady Eagles a 21-9 lead as the Eagles went on to win the set 25-12. The Bulldogs won the first point in the third set but Chesnee started to pull away by winning seven of the next eight points. Abbey Ray was big in the third set as she served fifteen straight points to help lead the Lady Eagles to a 25-8 win in the final set. Chesnee had a well balanced attack as they recorded thirty-one assists on thirty-four kills as AC Yelton led the way with seventeen assists and Holly Hines added ten more. The Eagles were able to spread out the kills as well on the offensive attack as seven different Eagles collected a kill with four players having five or more. Abbey Ray led the team with thirteen kills. "The key to our setting is having so many hitters that we feel comfortable setting the ball to,” said Jolley. “When you have that many options the blockers can't key in on a particular player." Several Eagles players had good night's defensively as Chesnee had thirty-five digs as a team with five players having at least five digs. Kaitlyn Barrett led the way with eight digs as Abbey Ray and Shelby Harris each collected six digs. "With all five of them having five or more digs it tells me everybody was moving and playing defense,” said Jolley. Senior Anna Sullivan had a solid night as she had five kills with a pair of service aces and a pair of digs. "It feels good to be consistent,” said Sullivan. “I have worked really hard to get better this year." Chesnee will travel to Powdersville on Wednesday at 6:00pm and the winner will advance to the Upper State Championship game. The Chesnee Eagles volleyball team picked up a 3-0 win to open the 3A playoffs with a sweep of the Seneca Bobcats on Wednesday night.
"It feels great,” said Chesnee head coach Katie Jolley about the Eagles win. “Their region is very tough and they have a lot of strong teams in that region." Seneca got off to a good start as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the early going but a big kill from Jessa Beach and solid serves from Holly Hines helped turn the momentum in the Eagle's favor as it sparked a 9-0 run that turned an 8-3 deficit into a 12-8 lead. Chesnee wouldn't trail in the match the rest of the night. "Jessa got us going and Holly's serves got us back into it,” said Jolley. “It's a team effort right now and that is what is really making the difference." The Eagles had to stave off a late Lady Bobcat's rally to win set one 25-18 Chesnee came out firing in set two as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead on their way to a 25-13 win. The Eagles once again jumped out to an early lead in the third set as they lead 9-2 in the early going on their way to victory in the final set. Senior Alyssa Robinson got a big dig to help end any chance of a Bobcat's comeback. "It gives us a lot of confidence because we know it is not going to be an easy road to state and we have to take it game by game,” said senior Shelby Harris. ”It feels really good to get this first win." Chesnee had a solid game defensively as they collected thirty-nine digs as a team with AC Yelton leading the way with eleven while Shelby Harris also added ten digs herself. "We knew they were a good team and they were going to put the ball in spots we really had to work to get to," said Harris. Yelton nearly had a triple-double as she had fourteen assists and nine digs to go along with the eleven digs. Holly Hines had a great night serving as she finished with seven aces while adding fourteen assists. Kaitlyn Barrett and Abbey Ray lead the team in kills as Barrett had ten to continue her stellar play while Ray added nine. Chesnee will host Camden on Monday in the second round of the playoffs. The Chesnee Eagles tennis team picked up the first ever playoff win in program history with a 6-0 win over the West-Oak Warriors on Wednesday afternoon.
"It’s amazing,” said Chesnee head tennis coach Kelli Wall about her program’s historic win. “We are all so excited but the girls really didn't celebrate long as they started planning for tomorrow's practice and want to practice again on Sunday." Trista Gaffney won her match (6-1, 6-2) while Mattie Martin swept her match with a pair of 6-1 wins. Sam Carver also won both of hers matches (6-0, 6-1) and Ansley Mossberg swept her match as well (6-0, 6-1 wins). Faith Stewart also picked up wins (6-0, 6-0) to round out the individual matchs. In doubles play Anna Katherine Hayes and Eva Vaca swept both of their sets (6-0, 6-0). The Eagles tennis team is in just it's second year of existence and has seen tremendous growth this year as they also finished second in region play. "I am grateful, proud, and ecstatic that these girls wanted to try a sport they knew nothing about,” said Wall. “They took a huge leap from being successful in other sports to jumping into uncharted waters. The girls have worked really hard to improve on strokes and serves. I love their competitiveness and drive to learn along with their desire to succeed. They are also a very funny group and make me laugh a lot.” Chesnee will travel to Camden on Monday in the second round of the playoffs. The Chesnee golf team won the 3A Upper State championship on Tuesday afternoon after shooting a team score of 318 and finishing ahead of their next closest contender by twenty-six shots. The tournament was held at the Carolina Springs Golf Club in Fountain Inn, SC.
The Eagles were led by Isabella Britt who finished second overall in the tournament by shooting an overall score of seventy-five. They also got an impressive performance from Caitlyn Cash who tied for fourth place with a score of seventy-nine. With the victory the Eagles will next play in the 3A State Championship from October 28-29 at the Hackler Golf Club in Aynor, SC. The Chesnee Eagles used a thirty-one point first quarter to propel them to a 45-14 win over the Carolina Trojans on Friday night in front of their homecoming crowd. The win also gives the Eagles their second win in Region II-3A and secures the Eagles a spot in the 2019 playoffs.
"It feels great,” said Chesnee head coach Clay Lewis. “We have been waiting for a game like we had tonight. Each week we have gotten better but I have been waiting for that breakout game and we were able to put it together tonight." Chesnee got the scoring started early as Rodney Alexander took his first handoff of the night thirty-eight yards for the score just twenty-eight seconds into the game to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead. After the ensuing Carolina drive stalled Jacob Aparis would run it in from three yards out to give the Eagles a two possession lead. Jacob Kimbrell found Alijah Means on the two point try to make the Chesnee lead 14-0 still early on in the game. Trying to not be out done the Eagle defense would do a little scoring of their own on the ensuing possession when Avery Fogle scooped up a Trojan fumble and running it back fifteen yards to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead. Fogle had a big night as he had a big game on the field and he also had his homecoming nomination, Abbey Ray, crowned the 2019 Chesnee Homecoming Queen. On the ensuing Trojan drive Carolina would cash in on one of their few big plays of the night as Steve Parker ran it in on a sixty yard run. The Trojans would also get the two-point conversion as Kaleb Whiteside ran it in to cut the Eagle's lead to 21-8 still in the first quarter. Chesnee responded with what would be back to back big plays by Ian Harris. The first big play was a thirty-five yard field goal with 2:12 left in the first quarter. Harris's second big play also helped the Eagles get points as he kicked and recovered his own onside kick. On the next play from scrimmage Jacob Aparis took the ball in from forty-nine yards out to increase the Chesnee lead to 31-8 with two minutes left in the first quarter. The score marked the second time in the quarter that the Eagles scored twice within a ten second span. With just over eight minutes left in the first half Dylan Bennett snatched a Carolina fumble out of the air and returned it fifteen yards for another Eagles touchdown. Carolina opened up the second half with a Tyrese Hampton sixty-three yard run to put the Eagles lead at 38-14 with 11:26 left in the third quarter. Chesnee's final score of the night was the first through the air as Jacob Kimbrell hit Cole Hoskyns from ten yards out to put the Eagles up 45-14. This was Hoskyns' second touchdown in as many weeks. As a team the Eagles rushed for two hundred and six yards on twenty-four carries and three scores. The Eagles averaged just a shade over eight and a half yards a carry. Jacob Aparis and Rodney Alexander lead the way for the Eagles. Aparis finished with nine carries for eighty-three yards and a pair of scores while Alexander added sixty-one yards on three carries and a score. "I though they played well,” said Lewis. “We blocked real well and I thought we played very good offensively in the first half." The Chesnee rush defense was solid as well as the Trojans only managed one hundred and seven yards on twenty-six carries with all but three of those yards coming on the two long touchdown runs. Blaine Thompson was one of several Eagles who had a big night as he finished with eight tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack. "It's a team game and in order for those guys to make the big plays the other guys have to make plays behind them,” said Lewis. “I thought a lot of our kids played well. Blaine did a good job for us upfront and our linebackers also played well." Chesnee will be back in action in two weeks as they host Chapman in the regular season finale. The Chesnee Eagles capped off a perfect region campaign with a 3-0 win over the Chapman Panthers to claim the Region II-3A title as the Eagles won every set in region play.
"It's awesome,” said Chesnee head coach Katie Jolley. “This is my first region title as a head coach and I am excited about being home for the first two rounds of the playoffs as long as we take care of business.” The Panthers came out strong in the first set leading for the early portion of the set before taking a 10-9 lead in the middle portion of the set the Eagles maintained control for the remainder of the set to pick up a 25-20 win. Chapman once again started the second set with the lead but the Eagles quickly responded to take the lead of a back and forth set before using a 10-3 run in the middle of the set to give them a 21-13 lead on the way to a 25-16 win. "I told them the best way to quiet a crowd is to get ahead,” said Jolley. “That really helped us in keeping our composure to get the win." The Eagles jumped out to a fast start in the third set with a 4-1 lead but the Panthers rallied allowing them to take 5-4 lead but it would be their only lead of the set and last of the match. Chesnee responded with another big run as they went on a 10-2 run to pull away as Kaitlyn Barrett was able to drill a ball off of the hands of a pair of Chapman blockers to give the Eagles a 25-20 win and the region championship. Jessa Beach had a huge night at the net for Chesnee as she finished with five blocks as the Eagles had seven total as a team. Each time the Panthers went on a run the Eagles seemed to come up with a big block to stall the Panthers momentum. "They have been working in blocking all season long,” said Jolley. “Jessa (Beach) was big for us as she had five blocks and Anna (Sullivan) had some big blocks for us too. They were constantly moving and getting touches." AC Yelton had the lone double-double for the Eagles as she had fourteen digs and thirteen assist while also adding six kills. Abbey Ray and Kaitlyn Barrett led the way in kills with eight kills as Ray and Barrett also added eleven digs apiece. Shelby Harris led the way defensively for Chesnee as she had fifteen digs as the team had a combined sixty digs. Holly Hines led the Eagles with fifteen assists. Coach Jolley was pleased with her team's well balanced effort. ”That is what made us region champs,” said Jolley. “When you have one person to stop it is easier to stop but when you have several to stop it’s hard to stop." Chesnee will host their opening round match on October 23rd against the number four seed from Region I-3A. Chesnee came up short on a two point conversion attempt with no time left on the clock as they were attempting to finish off a comeback that saw a 28-7 first half deficit all but erased before falling 28-26 to the Broome Centurions in a key Region II-3A matchup.
"I'm real proud of the kids," said Chesnee head football coach Clay Lewis. "In the first half I thought we were a little flat coming out but I thought we did a good job of regrouping and fighting our way back." Broome was able to score on their opening drive of the game as CJ Littlejohn punched in it in from one yard out for the first of his two touchdowns on the night. Littlejohn picked up his second touchdown of the night on the first play of the second quarter to put Broome up 13-0. Chesnee responded when Jacob Kimbrell found Alijah Means for a thirteen yard scoring strike on fourth down to cut the Broome lead to 13-7 with 7:30 left in the first half. Broome would respond with a forty-nine yard touchdown run by Bryant Davis to give Broome a 21-7 lead with just under six minutes left in the half. The Centurions added another touchdown with just over thirty seconds left in the half as Dylan Ramirez hit KJ Morgan for a sixty-five yard strike to increase the Centurion lead to 28-7. The Eagles responded with no time left on the clock in the first half when Kimbrell hit Means for a six yard scoring strike to cut the Broome lead to 28-14 at halftime. "Those two bailed us out a couple of times tonight and really kept us in the game early on," said Lewis about the performance of Kimbrell and Means. Jacob Aparis pulled Chesnee within eight points when he scampered in from six yards out after a bad snap on the point after attempt didn't allow the Eagles to pull any closer with just over four and a half minutes left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter the Eagles scored with no time left on the clock as Jacob Kimbrell found Cole Hoskyns from four yards out to put the score at 28-26. After the score the Eagles picked up a celebration penalty that pushed the Eagles back to the eighteen yard line for their two point conversion attempt to tie the game. On the two point attempt he Centurion defensive line was able to get pressure on the quarterback and forced an errant Chesnee pass that the Centurions were able to intercept. Jacob Aparis and Alijah Means had good night's for the Eagles offensively as Means had five receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns while Aparis had nineteen carries for ninety-three yards and a touchdown. The Eagles will look to bounce back next week at home as they host Carolina for homecoming. The Chesnee Eagles went on the road to Greenville County on Friday evening and thanks to a big offensive performance in the first half came away with a 35-7 win over Southside to open region play.
"It's all we have been talking about all week long was wanting to get a good fresh start to open up region play,” said Chesnee head coach Clay Lewis. “Our kids did a great job going out there and executing." The Eagles scored first on the opening drive of the game behind a two yard plunge by Avery Fogle to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The big play of the drive came when Jacob Kimbrell found Rodney Alexander for a forty-four yard pass to put the Eagles deep in Tiger territory. A big defensive play got the Eagle's second drive started on a positive note when Cole Hoskyns put pressure on the Southside quarterback and forced an errant pass that was picked off by Colby Davis. The ensuing Eagle's drive would be capped off by a twelve yard touchdown strike from Jacob Kimbrell to Jacob Aparis to double the Eagle's lead to 14-0. Jacob Kimbrell scored his first rushing touchdown of the night and fifth of the season just moments into the second quarter when he ran the ball twenty-six yards to put the Eagle's up 21-0. Just over three minutes later the Eagle's would once again find the endzone when Jacob Aparis punched the ball in from one yard out to put Chesnee up 28-0 over Southside. The Chesnee offense had a very efficient first half as they were six of eight on third down attempts and earned ten first downs. They also had ninety-nine yards through the air and 122 yards on the ground in the first half. Southside fought back with their opening drive of the second half as the Tigers took off over four minutes of the clock capping it off with a Jamie Gamble sixteen yard touchdown run. After some back and forth action the Eagles were able to once again make it a four possession game when Avery Fogle's four yard touchdown run with just over six minutes left put the Eagles up 35-7 over the Tigers. The Chesnee defense made a big final with just under five seconds left on the clock to stop the Tigers inside the Chesnee five yard line on fourth down. The Eagles defense played well as they forced a pair of turnovers and also limited the Tigers to five of thirteen on third down conversion attempts. Lorenzo Duren also intercepted his second pass in as many weeks for the Eagles. "Our defensive coaches once again put together a good game plan,” said Lewis. “The kids went out and executed and all three areas of our defense played well tonight.” Jacob Kimbrell had a big night for the Eagles as the senior quarterback finished seven of sixteen through the air for one-hundred and twenty yards to go with seventy yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Chesnee offensive line played well for the Eagles as they totaled two hundred and seventy-six total yards on offense. "Looking at it from the sidelines I thought our offensive line played the best they have all year and that's real encouraging,” said Lewis about his offensive line’s performance. The Eagles are riding high after winning their region opener and earning their second straight win. Chesnee will look to continue the momentum into next Friday when they travel to Broome. |
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