Hornets sweep Trojans, advance to 3rd round

Oct. 27—AIKEN 3, JAMES ISLAND 0

There was no need for a special message from Jeremy Rinder to his Aiken High volleyball team Tuesday night.

Sure, the Hornets were looking at potentially being pushed to at least a fourth set by visiting James Island in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs, but their 24-22 deficit in the second set is exactly the kind of thing they prepare for in practice.

All Rinder had to tell them was to just play the next point — and they responded by winning 17 of the next 18. Their quick rally to take the second set deflated James Island, and it didn't take long to wrap up a 25-19, 26-24, 25-16 win to move on to the third round Thursday at North Myrtle Beach.

"We had been building and training for those moments, so that's when you have to trust what you know," Rinder said. "At that point, win in serve receive. We told them to play the next ball. They called the timeout at 24-24, and the message was exactly the same. Play the next ball. Super proud of how they responded. They did exactly what we would expect and want them to do."

The stretch bridging the second and third sets shows what makes Aiken so dangerous. Of those 17 points, only two were scored on James Island attack errors — the rest came during a barrage of swings from the Hornets' deep, talented roster.

Brianna Mahoney, Ansley Kitchings and Natalie Bland had the kills to end the second, then Ellie Runnels had three in a quick span between four Bland aces. Another Mahoney kill made it 11-1 in the set as James Island began to resemble a team that had its spirit broken in the previous set.

Still, Rinder and assistant coach Kelsey Yarbrough said James Island came in ready to play and forced Aiken to make in-game adjustments — but that's one of the Hornets' specialties.

"This team, this year, and I've told them this before, is probably the best I've had at making in-game adjustments," Rinder said. "We have the ability to see something, relay that information, and it happens. Not every team has that ability. I think that's made the difference in a good number of ballgames for us, particularly those close ones."

Aiken (23-9) didn't show any signs of rust after clinching a first-round bye by rolling to an undefeated Region 5-AAAA title for the second year in a row. The Hornets hit .354 for the match and made only one defensive error in 63 opportunities.

"We really focus on trying to win in serve receive," Rinder said. "I feel like we used the middles tonight more than we have in a good amount of games. ... Sometimes when things are clicking, it is a little bit of sit back and enjoy the show."

Mahoney led the way for the offense with 20 kills on a .367 percentage, and she added 11 digs and three solo blocks defensively. Bland had nine kills, 18 digs and four aces, Kitchings hit .500 with seven kills, Runnels hit .545 with six kills, Rosie Tucker had 36 assists, and Abigail Tyler and Avery Sich had 14 kills in a complete team effort.

"We've been focusing on trusting each other and trusting skill," Yarbrough said. "When you play like a team like that, that's what happens."

Up next for Aiken is a road trip Thursday to face Region 6-AAAA champion North Myrtle Beach, a 25-10, 25-14, 25-20 winner over South Aiken on Tuesday.