Photo by Jeff Blake/ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com B–C head coach Elaine Remia talks to her players during a timeout against Camden. Elaine Remia pointed across a rapidly emptying gym toward a blond moppet entertaining herself.

“That’s my little girl, but these players … come next,” the Brookland–Cayce volleyball coach said with a little catch in her voice during the pause.

“The six seniors, we’ve been together for six years. This – this season – was our baby. … I could tell you why I love each one of the seniors, and each reason would be different – and not many reasons would have to do with volleyball. … It’s going to be hard to let them go.”

It was similarly hard for the Bearcats to let go of their state title dreams on Monday night. Brookland– Cayce lost 3–0 to Region 6 champion Camden (24–5) in the third round of the state Class 3A playoffs, equaling their exit in the 2008. Unlike the Region 5 champion Bearcats’ one–sided loss to Camden on the final day of the regular season, the scores this time were 25–22, 26–24, and 25–22.

Photo by Jeff Blake/ ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com B–C’s Sara Henderson sets for a teammate against Camden. “We were, what, within five points of winning this match,” senior Alex White said. “That’s what I hate – losing close by a small score. It’s not like we were blown out by a better team.”

The Bearcats (12–7) led throughout most of the final two games and had a lead with the score in the 20s, including a game point in the middle game. Though they never led the first game, after 3–2, the game was tied five times between 16 and 22

“We were very capable of winning this match,” senior Kathryn Helms said. “A lot of people gave it their all out there.”

Photo by Jeff Blake/ ColumbiaWeddingPhotos.com B–C’s Kathryn Helms serves against Camden. Each time, however, Camden finished strongly. The Bulldogs scored four of the final five points in each of the first two games, rallies sparked by a foot–fault on a serve by Brookland–Cayce (Game 1), and an angrily disputed line call that went against the Bearcats (Game 2). In the third game, Camden scored five of the final six points fueled, in part, by three Brookland–Cayce kills into the net.

“They are very upset right now, especially the six seniors, but I don’t think they should have any regrets,” Remia said. “They gave it all they had. They showed tonight how the real B–C volleyball team plays. I truly believe we have one of the top teams in the state, but so does Camden. It was going to come down to who made the most mistakes, and, unfortunately, it was us.”

Which left it up to the seniors to deal with the loss in their own ways.

Many sought family.

Ashlyn Hicks sat with a team manager on a curb outside the gym in the dark long after everyone else had drifted back inside.

Senior Alley Greer received a lengthy hug and words of encouragement from former coach Beth Cleland who, along with Remia, had guided this senior group for so long before stepping down in a planned transition last year.

Though the moment was a disappointment for them, none thought the season was.

“We didn’t win states, but we came close,” Greer said. “We dug ourselves out of a lot of holes during the season. We worked hard. We worked together. We showed a lot of determination, so I’ll consider this season a success.”