The long history of Lexington High School athletics has produced state champions in 20 different sports.
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The long history of Lexington High School athletics has produced state champions in 20 different sports.
Volleyball is one of the few exceptions. The Lady Wildcats can become the first team to add that state title trophy to the school mantle at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 when they face Mauldin for the Class 5A championship at Dreher High School.
This is Lexington's third state title appearance after finishing runners-up in 2008 and 2019. The Lady Wildcats are also facing the Lady Mavericks for the second time this season, losing to them in three sets
Sept. 28 as part of a tri-match at North Myrtle Beach.
Defying history has become a hallmark of this year's Lady Wildcats. They managed to not only win three straight road matches after placing second to River Bluff in Region 4-5A, but also beat longtime nemesis Wando in four sets at the Lower State final.
It was just the third win in 26 tries against the Lady Warriors and just the second victory in Mount Pleasant since 2008.
"Well, history plays a small part in the players' minds but the girls don't know the full history," Lexington head coach Eric Shick said following the win. "So that isn't foremost on their minds. The players really wanted it tonight. They really believed that they were going to win and I felt that if we executed at a high level that we would win as well."
Shick said his team made very few errors. He credited his senior captains Andrea Crawford and Ashley Kelley for putting "the team on their shoulders" and playing well and said Kendall Vinson "had the game of her life".
"They gave their full effort and energy and kept telling the team in the timeouts that "We got this!," he said. "It was just a magical night."
Shick believes this year's team is different from his state runner-up from three years ago.
"The team in 2019 was heavy with offense from the outside hitter position," he said. "But this season, we have had to find our offense from the other positions and it has made everyone else have to step up their game.
"Our passing and serving game is one of our strongest things we have going this year and that has helped us get sets to the middle and right side hitters in serve receive so that our outsides don't have to do it all. Our defense has been great this past month and I feel that we are peaking at the right time-
when we need it most."
Having previously played Mauldin, which is making its first state title appearance, Shick believes both teams are "evenly matched" and expects them to play "at their highest levels" to end the season. Tickets for the state final are available through https://gofan.co/app/school/SCHSL. It can also be streamed for a fee at www.nfhsnetwork.com.
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