PICKENS — Former all-state volleyball player Cassie Gravely joined the coaching staff at her alma mater recently.

“I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled we are to have Cassie join us,” Pickens coach Jennifer Gravely said. “I had the pleasure of coaching her for four years and am ecstatic to have her back on the bench as an assistant.

“The experience and talent she brings to our program is a reflection of her passion for the game and her success as a player. An amazing setter and hitter, she helped lead our team to two state championships in 2006 and 2008, as well as another finals appearance in 2007. Her senior season she suffered an injury that kept her out of the lineup for the majority of the season, and I hated that for her.”

Cassie Gravely’s career numbers at Pickens were impressive. She was named an all-state player her junior year and served as co-captain her senior season. She played one year of volleyball at Southern Wesleyan before transferring to North Greenville, where she earned a degree in education this past spring.

She currently teaches first grade at Dacusville Elementary. The daughter of Mike Gravely, a longtime Pickens football coach, and Pam Gravely, also a teacher in the district, Cassie gets competitiveness from her father and dedication from her mother.

“Cassie and I are not related, but others often assume that she’s my daughter because of the name. I can’t take credit for her,” Jennifer Gravely said. “But I must admit watching her grow as a player and person through high school, I honestly feel like she’s partially mine. I’m proud of who she is and tickled pink that she’s back at Pickens, where she belongs.”