GILBERT VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO LOWER STATE FINAL - Lady Indians defeat May River to reach semifinals

8-time defending champions end Gray Collegiate's season

Thomas Grant Jr.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 10/30/19

The disappointment of last year's S.C. High School League Class 3A playoff loss to Bishop England is now a distant memory for the Gilbert volleyball team.

Having vanquished their longtime …

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GILBERT VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO LOWER STATE FINAL - Lady Indians defeat May River to reach semifinals

8-time defending champions end Gray Collegiate's season

Posted

The disappointment of last year's S.C. High School League Class 3A playoff loss to Bishop England is now a distant memory for the Gilbert volleyball team.
Having vanquished their longtime post-season nemesis days earlier in the 2nd round, the Lady Indians now sought to end the 8-year hiatus from the state semifinals. 
Playing for the final time before the home audience, the Lady Indians defeated May River in 3 sets (25-9, 25-14, 25-17) on Wednesday to advance to the Lower State final.
"After losing out to Bishop England in the 3rd round, the girls took that loss to heart and, during the summer, began making goals, setting goals," said head coach Jackie Shealy, who's seeking her 4th state title appearance since 2008. "Every day, coming in at practice, they would set a goal for that practice and everything that they did was leading them on to make it to this point and finally getting back to the Lower State this week."
Standing in the way of playing for the Class 3A title at River Bluff High School on Nov. 9 is Academic Magnet. The Lady Raptors defeated Dillon in 3 sets and will play host to the Lower State final at 6 pm Monday in Charleston.
Shealy sees comparisions from an agressive, 'play from the heart' and determined standpoint with this year's team and her past Lower State champions. She believes it's important to keep up that desire for the program to win its first state title since 1998. 
"I think we have to continue to do what we've been doing everyday in practice which is making every moment count out on the floor and pushing each other in practice," Shealy said. "We've got to keep the intensity. We've got to keep focused. They have really during this playoff time been getting prepared mentally, physically and I think it shows. They're taking the court with a lot of confidence and I think that's what they need at this point."
Gilbert's victory also continued the success of Lexington School District 1 schools. The combined record of its 5 playoff teams (Gilbert, Lexington, White Knoll, River Bluff and Pelion) improved to 9-1 and the remaining four teams are a combined 9-0. 


St. Joseph Catholic 3, Gray Collegiate 1
The defending 8-time Class 2A champion Lady Knights ended the 2019 season for the Lady War Eagles.
St. Joseph's won the 1st two sets (25-11, 25-18) before Gray Collegiate rallied to win the 3rd set 25-21. The Lady Knights would win the 4th set 25-19 to advance to the Upper State final.


THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE

(All Games at 6 pm)


River Bluff at Wando
White Knoll at Lexington 

 

Shealy, Gilbert, volleyball

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