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Pickens outshines Hilton Head High in volleyball finale
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Hilton Head Island High School is used to witnessing offensive dominance.
The Seahawks just aren't used to it coming from the opposite side of the net.
Pickens changed that Saturday afternoon. Five different players recorded at least five kills to lead the Blue Flame to a win in the Class 3-A state championship contest against Hilton Head High, 30-28, 25-20, 25-16.
"Their girls were big and tall," Hilton Head High coach Chris Gray said. "They hit over us a lot. We couldn't really do anything against that."
Seahawks outside hitter Carly Ledbetter's offense had been the difference for Hilton Head High on its way to a Lower State championship. But on Saturday, Pickens was able to match Ledbetter's offensive output -- and then some.
Kara Morgan had a game-high 18 kills for the Blue Flame, which had 40 as a team for the match.
"They hit in every position, and they hit well out of every position," Gray said. "You can sit back and try to play defense, but that's hard to defend over and over and over again."
For at least one game, the Seahawks were able to do it. Hilton Head High held numerous leads throughout the opener, which had the feel of a fifth and deciding game, until the teams flip-flopped several one-point leads.
The Seahawks held off five game points before Morgan recorded a kill to end it on the Blue Flame's sixth try.
"I'm proud of the way we kept fighting off all points," Ledbetter said. "We just kept coming back and keeping the game alive."
The match, however, slipped out of their reach in the process.
The Seahawks were never able to regain the rhythm they maintained throughout the highly competitive opening game, which resulted in its first individual game loss of the Class 3-A playoffs.
And Pickens took advantage. The Blue Flame recorded an 8-0 run in the second game that Hilton Head High never came back from and added a 17-4 run in the third and final game.
Pickens also held Ledbetter to nine kills, her lowest output of the playoffs. Nysa Hicks added seven, while Emily Natoli led the team with 11 assists.
"I'm sure that first game took something out of us," Gray said. "But the girls played hard the whole time.
"That first game was a tough loss. It would have been the turning point for us. If we would have pulled that off, I think it would have changed the whole scenario."
Instead, Pickens notched its seventh state title in the last nine years and its 13th championship in school history.
"The girls worked hard to get to this point," Pickens coach Jennifer Gravely said. "It wasn't an easy match (Saturday). The girls had to fight hard for every point. Hilton Head (High) has got a really good team, which is why I'm proud of my girls for coming out on top."
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