CORDOVA - Kelly Hayden found herself in quite an unusual predicament in late August.

The Lady Cougars head volleyball coach inherited a program that was left without a coach just one week before the start of regular season play. Still, the goals for her team remained the same.

“The goal was to be region champs and to progress as far as we could into the state tournament,” Hayden said. “We have a good group of talented girls and they had no reason not to contend for a state title this season.”

Edisto (17-0) entered a preseason tournament at Orangeburg-Wilkinson and faced a few good teams in order to prepare for the regular season. Despite dropping the first three games matches, the Lady Cougars walked away as the tournament’s runner-up behind Keenan. Their performance during the event was enough to convince Hayden that her team would do just fine.

“After (the tournament), I kinda had confidence in them,” Hayden said. “We had a couple of weeks to get some things going and some skills down pat. After that, I knew we’d be successful.”

Edisto has put together a 17-game winning streak to earn the Region 5-AA championship and one of four number one seeds in the Lower State bracket. Although the Lady Cougars find it tough to maintain their high level of success, they are reaping the benefits of taking on tough competition.

“it’s been pretty difficult because it’s harder to fall than it is to come back,” Hayden said. “They had to defeat Branchville this year, which they haven’t defeated in the past, and that was a really significant win for us. From then, the momentum kept going and their skills have gotten better. They play better as a team every game.”

Edisto will host Marion in second round action at 6 p.m. tonight. With their season on the line tonight, the Lady Cougars will rely on their experience as they attempt to advance to the state quarterfinals.

“It’s really significant,” Hayden said about the value of the players’ experience on the court. “Everybody played last year and we were in the same situation last year. So, they’ve been there. Their nerves aren’t quite as heightened. They’re able to control themselves and play their game and not let it be a mental block.”

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

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