BLYTHEWOOD – After securing a second-place finish to Lugoff-Elgin in the Region 5-5A standings and earning a first-round bye in the 5A Division 2 volleyball playoffs, Blythewood opened the postseason Monday night with a solid 3-0 victory over Byrnes.
The Bengals (16-15, 10-2 Region 5-5A) won the first set 25-18, took the second set 25-20, then cruised in the third set 25-12 to clinch the win.
“They kept the pressure on and I’m very proud of them,” head coach Mary Hall said. “This is an amazing group of girls. They get along and they play for each other.”
Hall credits the team with working around the Rebels’ intent on shutting down Bengals hitter Olivia Ford, a sophomore who has a .346 hitting percentage and had 211 kills on the season going into Monday.
“It was obvious that Byrnes had scouted my middle hitter, we knew that that’s what they were looking for, which left my outside hitters available and it actually worked,” Hall said. “This is a great group of girls and the season has been pretty good. It’s been up and down. We could’ve pulled out some matches that were very close, but overall the girls are showing up when it’s time.”
Outside hitters Lani Richberg and Eli Verwers combined 24 kills in the win over Byrnes. Richberg led with 15, and Ford added nine of her own.
Monday’s win over Byrnes (14-19, 6-8 Region 2-5A) was an example, as Blythewood got kills from several other top hitters, including junior Eliana Verwers, Junior Riley Lyons, senior Rhelani Richberg, among others. Verwers had 216 kills going into the game, and Lyons had 2-6 kills and a .530 hitting percentage.
Blythewood, which is having its best season since winning the region title in 2021, Travels to Boiling Springs Wednesday to play the Bulldogs (22-8, 9-5 Region 2-5A), who beat Clover 3-0 Monday.
The winner of Wednesday’s match plays the winner of the James Island-River Bluff matchup in the semifinal round Tuesday.
