Dillon volleyball team hopes to net perfection

DILLON — In the football-crazy realm of Dillon High School, it’s often difficult for some of the smaller sports to glean even a sliver of the spotlight.

Unless, that is, they happen to accomplish something extraordinary — and nothing is more extraordinary than perfection.

The Dillon volleyball squad is set for its second-round Class 2A playoff matchup against Silver Bluff today in Dillon.

The Wildcats bring a lot of expectations to the floor, part of which goes hand-in-hand with a 17-0 record.

“It’s been a Cinderella season for us,” Dillon coach Dolores Conn said. “Even after making a run in the playoffs last year, you never go into a season expecting to be undefeated heading into the playoffs.
“It’s just been a magical run. I should retire at the end of the season and go out on a high note.”

Not likely given her nearly 30 years of devotion already, but it’s hard to imagine she’ll have a better season than this one.

Dillon is one win away from making the third round of the playoffs for the second straight season. In their 17 previous matches, the Wildcats have been pushed past the three-game minimum three times, and only once did it appear that they were not in control.

In fact, their perfect season almost never got off the ground. Dillon had to rally from two games down in its opening match against Aynor.

“We kind of woke up after those first two games,” senior setter Lauren Bailey said. “We were really sloppy, weren’t very focused and just weren’t playing like we were capable of.

“But we rallied together after that second game and took the next three. That was kind of the spark we needed for the season.”

The lapse in focus lasted just one game as the Wildcats tore through the rest of the season, never losing their edge even against less-talented opponents.

“It sounds clíché, but we had that one-game-at-a-time mentality,” senior outside hitter Depris Ford said. “That first game taught us anyone can be beaten at anytime.”

Ford, Bailey and the other six seniors on the squad have provided constant leadership and drive along with their individual skill sets.

And like any good team, there’s plenty of talent to go around.

Thriving on a “team first” concept, the Wildcats have no superstars, but 14 role players capable of making enough of a difference offensivley and defensivley that none are considered a liability.

“One girl moves out, another comes in and we don’t miss a beat,” senior libero Tory Hinson said. “That’s part of what makes us a good team. It’s hard to predict what we’re going to do next.”

Conn agreed, adding that this year’s squad has a different dimension to it than in years past.

“A lot of players are good at one thing and maybe not in other areas,” Conn said. “Hadassah (Lighty) is a great blocker, but is also capable of tipping the ball or setting it up for someone else.

“Leigh Ann (Moody), Jessica (Perritt), Zipporah (Lighty), all of these girls are capable of doing things other than just their set positions. It just makes it that much more difficult to defend.”

While the journey has been fun, the final destination has not been reached. The senior-heavy squad knows that an undefeated regular season means nothing in the playoffs.

“We want to get past the third round, definitely,” Bailey said. “We want to go to state. We want to have that experience.”

Easier said than done. Provided they get past a tough Silver Bluff squad, the Wildcats likely have Waccamaw and Bishop England to look forward to in the final two lower state rounds. Waccamaw is a top seed in Class 2A and Bishop England is the No. 1 ranked team in 2A according to the volleyball coaches’ poll. Dillon is ranked third.

“It won’t be easy,” Hinson said, “but especially for the seniors, we know that these are probably the last few times we’re going to play volleyball. We have four games left at the most before we have to take off our jerseys for good.
“No one wants to do that yet.”