PICKENS — The Pickens Middle School volleyball team completed its fifth consecutive undefeated season by winning the AOP Conference Division II Tournament title under the direction of head coach Mellie Crumpton. The win gave the Sparks its sixth end-of-year tournament championship in the last seven years and extended the Sparks’ winning streak to an incredible 80 matches.
The Sparks won the regular-season title with a perfect record of 12-0 and received a first-round bye in the division tournament held October 13 at Riverside Middle School.
The Sparks opened the tournament with a 25-12, 25-11 win over Riverside and then defeated Wren twice 25-14, 25-8 in the semifinals and 25-7, 25-15 in the finals to claim the tournament victory.
“What an amazing season we have had this year! The girls work so hard every practice and it’s always exciting to see them bring it to the court. That’s exactly what they did on Saturday.” said Crumpton. “I was excited everyone was able to play and help lead us to another victory. It’s always fun to watch them bring it all together and to be able to just see the growth unfold on the court. I love it!”
Crumpton said the team had a 90 percent serving percentage which was led by Ivy Freeman, who served 28 times without a miss and had 10 aces.
Also contributing were Faith Clarkson with 12 aces and Lauren Dow with 8 aces.
“Our offense has been unstoppable this season and nothing changed on Saturday! We have some big hitters on this squad and I just love it when they connect with our setters,” she said. “Leading us were Faith Clarkson with 19 kills, Lauren Dow with 18 kills, Asia Westbrook and Ivy Freeman with nine kills each, and Ansley Reid with seven kills. Both setters had 33 assists.”
The Lady Sparks (15-0) did not drop a set all year and only once did an opponent get to 20 points. The 8th-grade group of Clarkson, Dow, Reid and Cooper became the first group under Coach Crumpton to never drop a set in their Pickens Middle School career.
The Sparks have now won 111 consecutive sets over three seasons.
“Those four came to us as managers their 6th-grade year, so they have been with us for 3 seasons. I am truly going to miss their quirkiness, but most importantly their kind hearts and hard work. I cannot wait to see what’s in store for them.”
“Each year I wonder how the new team is going to step up and I seem to always say ‘They have big shoes to fill’ and each year, they do just that! This group was no different. They picked up the torch and kept it going,” said Crumpton. “Every year the team has new dynamics and it’s always fun to see how they are going to be their own team on the court.”
Crumpton recorded her 100th victory as the Sparks head coach during the 2018 season and now is 111-6 after her seventh year at Pickens Middle.
“I love my job as a volleyball coach and being able to coach such talented young girls makes it so much fun. What I love best are the connections I make with the players. I say it every year and I will say it again, I am going to miss these girls so much. It has been an honor to try and help them in some small way. Lucky for me, I will see some of them in the spring!
Crumpton also stated that this year was the first season for their Lady Sparks B team.
“This is something new we embarked on this season, having two teams. We were able to offer more playing time to a lot of different players. It was great getting to see all the girls play and improve throughout the season. Of course, I can’t leave out my sidekicks, Coach Tommy, and Coach Baxter,” she said. “They have been a huge help and the program wouldn’t be where it’s at without them. I’m excited to see where we go from here!”
