Dorman Boys Volleyball Build Legacy Through Success

Drew Copeland has been around volleyball his whole life.

His sister Tanae played at a high level at Chapman, and Drew played pepper with her on the side often. When he got to Wofford, he started playing volleyball with friends, and with girls on Wofford’s team. 

And when he got to Dorman as a teacher, boys volleyball had started. And the best volleyball coach in the history of the state noticed the new guy had a passion for volleyball. And then she asked him to build something.

No pressure, huh?

So what did Paula Kirkland see in Copeland at the time? 

“Enthusiasm, for one,” she said. “He loves the sport. He plays it a lot himself. I love it too, but I didn’t want to coach boys and girls. So a young man like that, who’s energetic, who’s willing to put in the time, I felt this is somewhere he would build something and stay. It takes somebody who’s going to stay and stick with it. And he fit the bill just perfectly.”

Copeland was blown away by the opportunity.

“It was shocking at first,” he said. “I didn’t have anything on my resume to get me a volleyball coaching job. Growing up I played football and basketball. I felt that was where my future was and what I would be coaching. She told me she wanted me to be a part of it. It was definitely an honor. She assked me to be part of the girls staff as well, and I spent time as an assistant in the fall learning under her, and was head coach with the boys in the Spring. I tried to be a sponge, soaking up everything I could from her.”

One thing Copeland absorbed was the culture around Dorman volleyball, and how the girls program is run as much more than just a team.

“It’s kind of an example right there that we can tell our guys to look at what the girls are doing, and that’s what a successful volleyball program looks like,” he said. “Watch their culture. Watch what the bench does. Look at what they’ve created and what they represent, and that in this state when it comes to volleyball you’re looking at Dorman. We kind of wear that chip on our shoulder as well. We know people are going to expect that from us and honestly, we want people to expect that from us. And having been there and Coach Kirkland being a listening ear or giving me guidance has just been huge.”

Even Kirkland couldn’t have expected this growth, though. From starting a program during COVID and hoping for athletes to come out to last week’s establishment as the No. 1 team in the country, the rise has been meteoric.

“I think it’s pretty doggone quick,” Kirkland said. “It’s been amazing to watch. Five years ago we had a group of boys who had the courage to get out here and do something they didn’t know how to do. Had they not had the courage to give it a try, we wouldn’t be where they are. But those boys encouraged others, and we finally got some really good athletes and good volleyball players to stick around and get with the program. Jamarcus Wilkins was the first basketball player who came out and then all of a sudden basketball people were like ok, maybe I can do this, this looks like fun. And those guys really made a difference.”

Copeland is equally amazed by the program’s quick rise.

“It’s unreal, and it’s been such a blessing,” he said. “Obviously, being at one of the biggest schools in the state helps us when it comes to just numbers, just physically people being here. But Coach Kirkland is right. Jamarcus was a popular kid here. Volleyball was still seen as the sport that you went to when you got cut, or it was a girls sport. I taught him his freshman year, we had a good relationship, so his junior year I told him this could help with basketball. He’s athletic. He’s tall. There’s a lot of overlap between jumping, vertical footwork, that kind of thing. I asked him to give it a shot, and if he didn’t like it he didn’t have to stick around. And I think he was a part of the reason that we were able to get some other guys, some more athletes, and we’ve grown because of it. Now we’re not getting kids who have never played sports in their lives. We’re not having to teach them both how to be an athlete and how to play volleyball. And that’s been a huge transition for us.”

Part of that appeal is the individual dominance that can be displayed even in a team game, especially by way of play at the net.

“Absolutely,” Copeland said with a laugh. “When they play in PE or PES and they do well it’s like ‘Oh, I’m GOOD’. And I tell them that’s unorganized, and now let’s come refine it a bit. Then they come out and see how real volleyball is played, it’s kind of like a wakeup call. After they get that first kill or that first block, you see that competitive side of them again. That athlete’s mentality kicks in and they have a hunger to succeed and they want to dominate. That’s where a guy like Will Bush comes in. He talked to Jamarcus, he got the bug, and ever since then he’s been locked in.”

And yes, having good players helps. Lucas Helle is the son of Stars Carolinas Club Director Corey Helle, a wildly successful coach. Lucas has a deep volleyball background and is among the best players in the country. He’s helped lead Dorman since seventh grade.

“What a journey it has been to have him for six years now,” Copeland said. “it’s kind of crazy to think that it’s coming to an end. To hear him a couple, a couple days ago, we were talking and I was like, hey, like, get some rest. Like he had like a little nagging injury. And he said I have four practices left. And that to me was a whoa moment. It has been such a journey to see him grow from the seventh grader to the young man he is now and everybody has seen him grow, whether it be indoor or outdoor. His emotional and mental development, I think, is the part that people overlook. Obviously, you can look and see that he’s a phenomenal athlete, but people don’t get to know Lucas as a person. They just get to see Lucas the athlete. I have been blessed to be able to get to know Lucas the person, and he genuinely loves the people around him. He loves being here. He loves being a Cavalier. And so to see him have a full circle moment this year, of him feeling like he, when he was in seventh grade, having to prove to everybody that I am the guy, and I deserve to be here and this is what you have to expect for me to here now with him, like, yeah, you can sub me out. Like, let these other guys get in. I want to see the Dorman volleyball run continue. He doesn’t want us to win four in a row. He wants us to win five, six, seven in a row. And that’s the character and the love that he has that people may not get to see or people just don’t want to see it because they still see the angry seventh grader trying to, you know, prove himself. He is truly grown into a leader for this team and without him, and I don’t want to leave out Eli Mullins either, without the two of them, we would not be as successful as we are.”

For his part, Helle is just soaking in every moment. He recorded his 1500th kill earlier this week in the Upper State final. He’s playing out of position, as he’ll be a setter in college. He’s just finishing out his time as a Cavalier, and grateful for the experience.

“It’s so cool,” he said. “I mean, just seeing it from where we started, where we finished, just the level of volleyball, the level of growth. It’s just been so cool to see. 

Equally cool to Helle is the chance to play another position, and seeing his teammates do the same to thrive wherever they need to fit in.

“I think it’s really important,” he said. I” think what makes Dorman so dominant is that everyone can play out of position and everyone is just an athlete so we can go out there and compete and play in different spots and still go on the line.

He’s also thrilled that this year’s team doesn’t look much like the first one did.

“Just to see the growth of volleyball general in the South Carolina has been so cool to see,” he said.  “When COVID first took the first season out, I mean, it was just a bunch of guys who couldn’t play really any other sport playing volleyball. And now it’s a bunch of high level athletes and a bunch of guys coming out to compete every day.  I’m super proud of this team or this community and the way we pull together and just come through. It means a lot to me. I mean, I’m super thankful for everything going on in this run for me and just being able to come out one last time.

Fellow captain Mullins is also a six-year player, and echoes Helle’s feelings.

“We lost in the playoffs when I was in eighth grade, and then after that, we won it in ninth grade,” he said. “It was like, we might as well do it all four years. So, I mean, we’ve known we’re going to go on the four-peat  since we were in eighth grade.

As the Cavaliers’ setter, Mullins has the unique opportunity to sort of dictate the way Dorman’s offense is going to go. It’s something he loves.

“Every guy, all my hitters are all my best friends,” he said. “On the court and I know where they’re at, you know where I’m at. They know what I’m going to do with the ball. I know what the results are going to be”.

Mullins also loves the target that comes with being a three-time champion.

“I wouldn’t want anything else, you know,” he said. “It’s one thing to be the best, and then if everybody wants to come at you, that’s yours. You can’t give that up for anybody. It’s something I’m very proud of.  I’ve worked. I’ve seen how hard we’ve worked. I know the hours we put in as a team.”

Leaders like Mullins and Helle are a crucial part of the program. When your best guys are also your best teammates, it’s something special.

“That has made this year so special,” Copeland said. “And that’s what has made this group one of, if not my favorite group to coach because they’re all just so selfless. Even like a guy like Marcus McCullough Bryant, who he wasn’t always a starter in years past at the varsity level. But even this year, he did earn that starting spot, but even with him having the starting spot, him and Will built a connection and said, any time that there’s a chance for Will to get in, because they play the same position, he’s like, hey, like, go ahead, like, let them go. When we’re looking at our younger guys like Isaac Rice, who’s a sophomore, watching him and Eli doing setting off on the side or seeing Eli or Lucas give them feedback on their approach or whatever. It’s just so cool to see the love and respect that they have for the like for each other and want to see each other get better. It’s not just a for me. It’s, I want us to get better. And I think that shows with how they’ve played over the past couple of seasons. It has made our job a lot easier and I hope that this senior class led by Lucas and Eli, that continues to get passed down over the next couple of years.”

The run is special to the community as well. Just ask business owner and school board member Kevin Harrison.

“The Dorman girls volleyball team, led by Coach Kirkland, has set the standard for excellence in this state,” he said. “It has been amazing to see the boys volleyball team led by Coach Copelan establish those same kind of expectations. Watching them is so fun. To be this dominant in the infancy of the program is truly an impressive feat. We couldn’t be more proud of both of these programs, and can’t wait to watch them both win State. Go Cavs!”

Three state titles in a row, and working on a fourth. No in-state set losses since 2022. The gulf between Dorman and the rest of the state seems unfathomable. But Copeland sees it closing.

“The club game, obviously, is also helping. I’m having Stars so close. That has been a big push, especially over the past two or three seasons. Being a huge help with allowing the guys to get extra reps outside of our season, allow them to have private lessons and we see that it’s continuing to grow Eastside, Boiling Springs, Byrnes. A lot of their guys are starting to get involved in club so that’s only going to help the club burn the sport grow.  More and more schools are getting teams. More and more skills are getting JV teams. And I think that’s what kind of gave us the edge initially, was we were big enough to have a JV program. So, you know, there are some teams who having to get their guys who never touched the volleyball to competing for playoffs, all in one season. I’ve had the luxury of not having to do that. I think I’ve obviously been blessed with some incredible talent, like we just mentioned. I remember when all of us got hired on at the same time, and we’re like, hey, like, we want to create something special and we want to see it continue to grow and build. We don’t want it to be like just another team. We want to set this standard for the state and for the school especially being at Dorman. Dorman wins. So you have to be prepared for that and that pressure, that stare. And so, we remember those early days and as we were looking forward to the future, looking at next year, it’s, hey, it may be some of that again to where we’re not able to rely on our guys who have been here since they’ve been in the seventh grade, we’re going to have to figure out who our new leaders are, both vocally and by play. And I think that that’s something that’s going to be an added level that will push me as a coach and by coaching staff as better coaches in this offseason coming up. It’s just, how are we going to respond to that? Because I know everybody’s going to think, oh, Lucas is going. Next year is our year to get our lick back on Dorman. And I don’t want our guys to feel like we haven’t done what we could do to best prepare them to get there. I also don’t want to knock our underclassmen. We have five guys who are on varsity that are ready to play. I think if they were honestly at him any other school, they would be starting and possibly competing for all-region positions, just because they are talented and if they had the opportunities to be seen more, they would see that. But people will have a chance to see him next year.”

There’s still a little bit of this year left. The Cavaliers will play for their fourth straight state title this afternoon. And there’s that No. 1 national ranking to live up to. Copeland said the team is enjoying the ride.

“It’s surreal. especially to know that we’re still young in South Carolina volleyball,” he said. “We just got our boys Coaches Association approved this summer, so there’s a lot of work still to be done. But then from a perspective of just me and my team, it’s like these boys have truly put in everything that they could. They’ve given six years, four years, some of them just this past year. But they’ve been working hard for everything that they’ve gotten. And they wanted to be battle tested. So that’s why we went down to that tournament in Virginia, and we were able to compete against some of the best teams in the country,  top 25 teams. It’s a blessing. It’s a blessing. The boys have kind of taken it on as a badge of honor. But they want to defend it as well. And they also know that they have a lot riding on this and they set a goal not only at the beginning of this year, Lucas and Eli set that one their freshman year and they want to see that goal get accomplished. And I think the number one national ranking is just one of the benefits of their hard work that I don’t think anybody planned on achieving, but we’re extremely thankful and blessed.”