COLUMBIA — Peyton Carman sprung into the air, and it felt like she was up there for a lifetime.
The score was 14-11 in the fifth set, and Powdersville volleyball needed one chance, one point, or one careless mistake from the hands of Oceanside Collegiate Academy.
But for Carman, all she wanted was one kill.
And after the senior outside hitter struck the ball into the deep corner, it was all the Patriots (22-8) needed to defeat the Landsharks (24-5) in five sets (21-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-10) on Nov. 8 at Dreher High School for the SCHSL Class AAA state championship, making Powdersville back-to-back champions.
“I was just really hoping we would stay together during that last point,” Carman said. “It wasn’t just me. We all combined our love and energy for this sport, and put it into that last point.”
The Patriots were the epitome of resilient, as they started the first set with a 5-0 deficit. Nonetheless, Powdersville never looked defeated.
“Even if we’re battling from behind, we never give up,” said Powdersville coach Brooke Passini. “Thats something we always work on in practice
“I also heavily rely on our five seniors. With their leadership, I’m always confident they can pump the team up.”
The win was described as “full circle”, as the girls remember every stepped they climbed to reach the most important game of the season.
“This honestly feels so relieving,” said outside hitter Harper Latham. “This team has put in so much, from tough practices every day after school, the conditioning over the summer … everything paid off. In the end, we got exactly what we wanted.”
Kamryn Jackson covers high school sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KamxJack.
This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: How Powdersville volleyball beat Oceanside for another state title
