SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Laurens Academy’s volleyball team came within a couple of points of another state championship Monday night, but Cambridge Academy won a fifth-set tiebreak 16-14 to take the SCISA Class 1A title at Spartanburg Christian Academy.
Cambridge won the match 3-2. The Cougars took the first set 25-22 after trailing 22-19, then saw the Crusaders roll through the next two by identical 25-7 scores. Cambridge answered by grabbing an early 9-3 lead in the fourth and going on to win it, forcing a deciding set.
Addison Mitchum fueled the Laurens Academy surge, rattling off seven points in a row from the service line early in the second set and adding two aces late in it. Brooklyn Senn did the same in the third, serving seven straight points as LA built a 9-1 lead.
In the tiebreak, Cambridge went up 8-4 before LA fought back to 13-13 with Mitchum serving. It was still even at 14-14 when the Cougars scored the last two points.
The loss was a reversal from a week earlier, when Laurens Academy beat Cambridge 3-1 in the region final. The Crusaders came into the title match on a sweep of the state tournament in Myrtle Beach, where they beat Emmanuel Christian, W.W. King Academy, Richard Winn and North Myrtle Beach Christian without dropping a set.
Laurens Academy finished the season 21-5 after reaching the state finals for a fifth year in a row. It had been chasing its fourth state crown in five seasons. Cambridge finished 16-5.
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