Seahawks eye title defense as playoffs start in volleyball and tennis

After one state volleyball crown and another trip to the final, Hilton Head Island coach Garret Talarczyk believes the program is well positioned to be right back in the mix again in these playoffs. And after events of recent weeks, he senses a renewed purpose in his team.

“The girls have come together a little bit stronger,” Talarczyk said Tuesday. “When we come together in timeouts, we say, ‘Let’s win it for the island.’ ”

As thrilling as last year’s title was for the Seahawks, getting another might bring a little more satisfaction as the island continues to rebuild from Hurricane Matthew. The Seahawks, who won at the Class 3A level last year, begin their 4A quest Thursday with a home match against Lakewood.

Wednesday starts a delayed postseason in volleyball and girls’ tennis, which along with football were pushed back by mass postponements caused by Matthew.

The Class 3A and 2A volleyball tournaments start Wednesday with four area teams in action, including Bluffton hosting Swansea as a No. 1 seed in the 3A competition. Battery Creek and May River also made the 3A brackets, along with Whale Branch in 2A.

Tennis also gets underway, though both Hilton Head Island and Bluffton have byes as top seeds. Beaufort and May River both open at home, with the Eagles taking on Lugoff-Elgin and the Sharks welcoming Pelion.

Last year, both the Seahawks and Bobcats reached the Lower State tennis finals before falling.

The Seahawks, though, reached the volleyball summit with a four-set triumph over Eastside. Five seniors return from that squad, led by libero Alexxis Andreas, just selected as the Region 8-4A player of the year. Outside hitters Da’Nesha Miller and Sydney Janson take charge up front.

“We have the talent,” Talarczyk said. “There’s no doubt in my mind we can make another run. We see ourselves in that state championship game, for sure, even though our record might not show as much.”

Hilton Head went 30-14-2 on the season, though Talarczyk noted several of those losses came to such powers as Wando and Bishop England. The Seahawks take a seven-match winning streak into the playoffs, all coming since competition restarted after Matthew.

The hurricane left two Seahawks displaced, the coach said, but the girls have found the gym to be a place where they can leave the problems of the outside world behind for a couple of hours.

“I was actually worried about getting back to practice too early,” Talarczyk said. “But the girls said, ‘We just want to get back to the gym.’ Just being apart for those two weeks — everybody displaced (to) Georgia, other states — they missed each other.”

Hilton Head will be without middle hitter McKenna Leitner, injured in the regular-season finale. The Seahawks will compensate by committee, with Miller or Kate Schwartz prime candidates. “All the girls are very diversified in their positions,” Talarczyk said.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:45 AM with the headline "Seahawks eye title defense as playoffs start in volleyball and tennis."