Beaufort High volleyball advanced to the gold division semifinals in an eight-team tournament Saturday at Oceanside Collegiate Academy.
The Eagles went 1-0-2 in pool play, sweeping Philip Simmons (25-21, 25-13) and splitting with Cathedral Academy (25-16, 23-25) and Hanahan (20-25, 25-17) to earn a spot in the gold bracket. They ran into a buzzsaw in the semifinals, though, falling 25-10, 25-18 to the host Landsharks, who went on to win the championship.
Hannah Merchant led the Eagles with 27 kills and 42 digs on the day, and she was 24-of-25 serving with four aces. Olive Renforth notched 12 kills and 38 digs and served 15-for-16 with two aces, setter Zyaire Middleton dished out 37 assists to go with 22 digs, and defensive specialists Sakura Simmons (29-of-30 serving, 3 aces, 36 digs) and Peyton Polk (44 digs) anchored the defense.
The Eagles travel to Bluffton on Tuesday for an important region match.