NMB volleyball ‘left everything on the floor,’ falls in thrilling state title match
Aiken High coach Jeremy Rinder thought his team lost its aggressiveness in the middle of Saturday’s Class 4A volleyball championship match.
The Green Hornets found it in the fifth set, defeating North Myrtle Beach 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 27-29, 15-11) in front of a raucous crowd at Dreher High School.
It was Aiken’s third state championship in program history and first since 2016.
“We got a little bit safe there (in sets three and four),” Rinder said. “I told them we’ve got to play aggressive. North Myrtle Beach was siding out every ball, killing it. But we have to serve aggressively and that is what we did in the fifth set. We played the next point and tried to play our game, which is aggressive.”
The Green Hornets (40-2) were making their second-straight championship appearance. Aiken lost to Pickens last season in the finals. Rinder thought that experience with seniors Bri Mahoney and Natalie Bland was a big factor Saturdaay, especially in the final set.
“We came up here last year with a deer-in-headlights look,” Rinder said. “We let the pomp and circumstance get to us. So having been here before played a big role. Our seniors and that leadership shined through in the end, and we weren’t going to be denied.”
While Aiken had experience on its side, North Myrtle Beach hopes to use Saturday’s loss as a stepping stone for the future. NMB coach Alex Sing gathered his players in a circle shortly after the match to reaffirm that.
The Chiefs have a young and talented roster that includes freshman Clara Cloninger and sophomore Olivia Borgmann, who both played big roles in Saturday’s comeback.
North Myrtle Beach won titles in 2018 and 2019, and some members of this year’s team either had sisters on those squads or watched that success.
“They left everything on the floor,” Sing said. “You saw that. Everyone was diving all over the place. I told them to leave everything on the floor, and they did that today.”
North Myrtle Beach (28-9-2) had its chances in the first two sets. The Chiefs trailed 17-11 in the opening set before tying it at 20. But the Green Hornets stayed composed and won 25-22.
In the second set, Aiken led 14-11, but the Chiefs tied it again at 19 before losing 25-22.
North Myrtle Beach trailed 21-19 in the third before winning 25-23. The Chiefs dodged a pair of championship points in the fourth set to win 29-27.
“I have coached a lot, and that is one of the better volleyball matches I have been a part of,” Sing said. “That was a lot of fun. I am so proud of my girls.”
