Boy's Volleyball | 11/6/2025 1:07:00 PM

Columbia, SC - Oceanside Collegiate Academy's boys volleyball team overcame an early stumble against Travelers Rest but the Landsharks pulled together for a 3-1 victory to win their second straight SCHSL AAAA state championship Saturday at A.C. Flora High School.

"It means a lot for the team. It says a lot about the kids and their hard work and their dedication," OCA head coach Jorge Riesgo said. "Both teams wanted that game. As a team, it means a lot about who we are and our character as individuals."

The Landsharks (23-3) fell behind the Devil Dogs (15-10) early in the first set and while they were able to pull even, OCA never recovered enough to regain the set. Travelers Rest held on for a 25-22 victory.

With their backs against the wall, Oceanside pulled things together quickly and jumped to a 6-0 lead in the second set as Koda Smith's serve had the Devil Dogs perplexed. The Landsharks took a 10-3 lead early and built up a 21-11 advantage. The Landsharks closed out the second set 25-16 to tie the match 1-1.

Travelers Rest got back into the game and traded shots with Oceanside for most of the third set but, toward the end, the Landsharks moved to a 22-18 advantage on Jack Hancock's serves and won the third set 25-18.

With the game on the line in the fourth set, Travelers Rest and Oceanside battled point-for-point all the way. The Devil Dogs trimmed the Landsharks' lead to 21-20, but Oceanside scored four of the last five points to close out a 25-21 set win and match victory.

"It was very challenging for us to get this far, especially after losing some key pieces last year," Riesgo said. "It took being able to recoup those losses and being able to work hard as a team to achieve our goals."

Looking back on the repeat win, Riesgo said it was much harder for the team this year than last year, because this year the Landsharks were the team to beat in 4A.

"Everyone wants to beat us, everyone in our region wanted to beat us really bad, and everyone would usually play their best game of the season against us," he said. "I believe the first one was a little easier because we weren't proven yet, and going back-to-back was difficult. They want to beat the champions."