By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com

COLUMBIA — Having dropped just one set on its way to the Class 4A volleyball state championship, the Pickens High School volleyball team prepared for possibly its biggest challenge yet with the title on the line against the Bishop England Battling Bishops on Saturday.

The Bishops, the national leader in volleyball state championships according to the South Carolina High School League, failed to provide much of a challenge for Pickens as the Blue Flame swept the Bishops 3-0 in straight sets to secure Pickens’ 18th volleyball state championship in school history.

“I’m just trying to let this soak in and realize what just happened,” Pickens head coach Mellie Crumpton said after the win. “We are a solid all-around team and we have grit. Our word for tonight was relentless. I told them to be relentless, and that’s what we came out and did.”

The championship win was the second straight for the Blue Flame — their first back-to-back titles since 2013-14.

“Honestly, I’ve just been praying the whole season that we would make it back,” Pickens senior setter Lily Clarkson said. “We just had to believe and trust in God’s plan, and

Last season, when the Pickens High School volleyball team overcame a year of adversity to secure the 17th state championship in school history, I wrote that if 2024 was a“down” year for Pickens volleyball, I hoped teams would be ready for what was to come from arguably the state’s top volleyball program.

However, it seemed nobody was ready for the Blue Flame in 2025 as they took down the competition with ease on their way to another state championship on Saturday against Bishop England. The win was

DROUGHT ENDED

Red Devils take down Pelion for first playoff win since 2016

Lions survive Dreher to advance;  Easley season in review; Flame fall to westside in round one; Clemson finds footing against FSU all this and more in this week’s FOOTBALL FRENZY, sponsored by Mountain View Funerals and Cremations available only in the Pickens County Courier.

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