COLUMBIA – There have been seasons past when the Lady Patriots got by on talent alone.

And things worked out okay, with a pair of state championships to show for it. But this just wasn’t one of them.

This time winning the state championship in volleyball – the third straight title for Wardlaw Academy – wasn’t about the Talent as much as it was about the Teamwork. And this one was more fun – way more. Not because they rallied from the loser’s bracket to quiet the crowds which were hoping against hope that someone, anyone might derail the Wardlaw Express, but because they traveled the road together and had a blast each and every step of the way. 

The Lady Patriots finish at 19-2 on the season after dropping Coastal Christian of Charleston 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 24-26, 25-11) on Monday night at Heathwood Hall in Columbia.

In the match, senior Gina Easler had 10 Kills, junior Skylar Eargle added 9 kills and junior Kara Beck also had 9 kills. Senior Victoria Cockrell had 19 digs and led the team on defense. Peyton Baynham was the strongest server of night for the Lady Patriots and Jessica Rutland added 5 kills. 

After brushing aside adversity brought on by a serious car accident that derailed the remainder of senior Jessica Allen’s season, it seemed that nothing would stop the team’s quest for the three-peat after senior Victoria Cockrell stepped in and played so well. But adversity had one final hurdle to throw at the Lady Patriots – just to make sure they were for real, and to test that vaunted team chemistry one more time.

So on Saturday morning, following homecoming festivities on Friday night, the team left the school around 6 a.m. and lined up to play at 8:30 a.m.

And nothing happened. They were flat, cold and lifeless.

Even designated team motivational specialist, junior Kara Beck, couldn’t get through to anyone.

“It was definitely a low and a high,” Beck said of the tournament. “It was pretty crazy because (Saturday) we started off not together and playing with no enthusiasm. I was trying to get everybody up and tell them that we have to get back into it and it just wasn’t happening.”

And the unthinkable happened – they lost, giving hope to so many who wished they would fail. But they were down, not out. 

“It was the best thing that could have happened to us,” said coach Kathy James. “Sometimes you forget how much of an honor it is to be playing for a state championship. We didn’t move our feet on defense and didn’t set up our offense, but (losing) unlocked a team that I had never seen before and they played elite ball from there on out. We were sent to the loser’s bracket and we were able to get back and beat the team that put us there (Coastal Christian) so that was sweet.”

Their chemistry had passed the test yet again.

“Their chemistry in pretty special,” James added. “It’s rare to have a group of girls and not have any drama, but they thoroughly enjoyed each other. They stayed together the whole time and were the most unified team. I didn’t have to ask them to do things they needed to do, they just did it. And I think that’s why we were able to battle through everything, there’s no one player who has led every game and every player has dominated at one time or another. They were a MVT (Most Valuable Team), there was no MVP (Most Valuable Player) out there.”

Senior Gina Easler, the team’s enforcer and power in the middle, said the chemistry was key.

“We just got along really well and we’ve been together for a while so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and it’s just made us tighter this year,” she said. “It felt like we had 500 pounds on our backs (after the loss), but I think we needed that. We had to go out there and earn it. It wasn’t going to be given to us.”

Skylar Eargle, who has now been a part of six state title teams at Wardlaw, agrees that working together has its advantages, especially when a key player goes down and that team chemistry on the court is threatened.

“We play really good together and I love it,” she said. “Probably over the last few years we haven’t really played as a team and played together but it was different this year. It’s difficult to do (when a starter goes down), but Victoria is such a great all-around player we knew that we could plug her in anywhere we needed her to be and it would be fine.”

Cockrell herself admitted to having some anxious feelings early on. But once she felt her teammates’ confidence all around she was good to go

“I was a little nervous to start with, but the team had confidence in me that I could do it so I felt better about it,” she said. “They did make it easy for me and looked out for me when I wasn’t sure what I was doing.”

Right-side hitter Jessica Rutland will always remember the team’s cohesiveness – and a big block she got with teammate Gina Easler.

“Our team unity would have to be my best memory,” she said. “Normally something might come up, but we kept that down pretty well this year. And we had one play I remember where Gina and I went up to block on a middle hit. Yeah, it was nice. After the play we all put our hands together and were like oooohhh.”

But leave it to the team’s philosopher to come up with the key quote and perhaps the most important moment in the tournament, when everything changed for the Lady Patriots. Caught up in the pressure of a key set, and during a tense timeout, Peyton Baynham tells her teammates that it’s all a mind game and to forget about that and love the game “from the tonsils down” like they know how to love the game.

In another huddle it might have made for an awkward moment – if that is, it weren’t so Peyton to go there and say it to start with.

“It’s just like her to say something like that, but it was what we needed right at that moment and the girls just went out and got it done,” James said.   

“They knew what I was trying to say,” Baynham said. “We had a lot of fun this year and had more fun with it and I think that really helped out a lot because it was crazy. There were other teams high-fiving the teams playing us. They didn’t even want us playing in the championship game and it definitely motivated us to go out there and prove to people that we could do it. We all enjoyed playing together, and you know, it’s a mind game so we love volleyball from the tonsils down.”

It makes perfect sense, for a near-perfect team.