High school roundup (Sept. 24)

The North Myrtle Beach volleyball team was feeling defeated after two straight losses to start its match against St. James on Thursday.

But it was far from over.

Chiefs coach Erica Allman moved freshman Sydney Bellamy from the middle to the outside at the start of Game 3, and Bellamy gave North Myrtle Beach a huge boost en route to a 3-2 win (18-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-4) over the Sharks.

“Down 2-0, they were all hanging their heads and felt overwhelmed,” Allman said. “But I moved Sydney from the middle to the outside and there was pretty much no looking back after that.”

Bellamy finished with 16 kills and was the catalyst for the Chiefs, who improved to 7-2. Allman said her team fed off Bellamy’s energy and got the job done in a close match.

“It all started with Sydney. She left it all on the court,” Allman said. “She was all over the place, her face was red the whole night and she was just dominant. Huge performance from her.”

Meanwhile, sophomore setter Maddie Roy contributed 42 assists and junior outside hitter Maggie Hash added 25 kills for North Myrtle Beach.

“I thought the girls fought extremely hard tonight,” Allman said. “I’m so proud of them for playing as a team and rallying back against a really good, scrappy St. James team.”

Next up for the Chiefs is perhaps their toughest match of the year. North Myrtle Beach hosts rival Myrtle Beach on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Seahawks coach Larry Church – who coached Allman in high school – has led his squad to an impressive 11-1 overall record heading into Tuesday’s contest. Myrtle Beach is also 4-0 in Region VII-AAA play.

Allman said it should make for an exciting match.

“Of course North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach is always a great rivalry,” said Allman, whose team is undefeated in Region VII-AAA play as well at 4-0. “Myrtle Beach has a very, very strong team; they have great players all around the court. But I love playing [against] Larry.”

Allman also said people have doubted her squad to start the year and wants to prove them wrong on Tuesday.

“If our girls play with the passion and intensity they did tonight in Games 3, 4 and 5, it will be a much better match than people anticipate,” Allman said. “A lot of people are overlooking us. We show a lot of heart and a lot of fight and I’m excited for Tuesday.

“It’s been a good year so far. We’ve learned from our mistakes and our losses and we’ve been getting better and better.”

Meanwhile, St. James (6-5, 2-2 Region VII-AAA) was led Thursday by Mallory Farmer, who had 11 kills, six service points and two blocks. Meanwhile, Cameron Carroll had seven kills and two blocks and Skyla Corey had eight kills, five service points and four blocks.

High school girls swimming

The North Myrtle Beach girls swimming team picked up a victory Thursday at the Sumter Aquatic Center as the Chiefs edged the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Math.

North Myrtle Beach was led by first place finishes from Ivey Brown in the 200 freestyle, Summer Ratley in the 100 butterfly, and April Ratley in the 100 freestyle.

High school volleyball

▪ (At) Myrtle Beach 3, Georgetown 0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-7) | Gracie Davis paced the Seahawks with 11 kills en route to a victory over the Bulldogs.

Myrtle Beach improved to 11-1 overall and the Seahawks have won eight straight since a 3-1 loss to Socastee on Sept. 8.

▪ (At) Socastee 3, Carolina Forest 1 (25-15, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22) | The Braves improved to 12-1 with a win over the Panthers.

Alexis Tomlin had 14 kills and Julie McKinney added 29 assists and 10 service points for Carolina Forest, which fell to 11-2.

▪ (At) Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 3, Florence Christian 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-15) | Natalia Antonucci had eight kills, six service points and three aces to pace the Saints, who handily defeated Florence Christian.

Natalie Markley had 13 service points, five kills and four aces and Caroline Gore added 10 service points, five kills and four aces for Christian Academy.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "High school roundup (Sept. 24)."