Carolina One Volleyball Pride seniors and their coaches are (from left) Coach Nikki Anthony, Payton Burkett, Alaina Craigo, Polly McCollum, Emma Van Daele, Calie Covey, Caroline Lucas and Assistant Coach Stephanie Cuddy.
Courtesy photo
PICKENS — The Pickens Carolina One 18 Elite volleyball team won bronze at the USA Volleyball Girls’ 18s Junior National Championships in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Pickens Carolina One club volleyball team, which goes by the name “Pride,” won four matches and lost four matches during the April 22-24 tournament, held at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix. In the bronze final on April 24, Pride defeated the Frisco Flyers of Frisco, Texas, in two sets, 25-17, 25-17.
During all of the eight matches, the Pickens’ squad was playing against teams from major metropolitan areas in states such as California, Texas and Minnesota.
“The entire coaching staff and I are beyond proud of our Pride team for their showing at the national championship,” said Pride Coach Nikki Anthony of Pickens. “We felt the girls showed tremendous heart and handled the pressure of the big stage well. We had a very tough Day Two matchup within our four-team pool, which produced the National Champion, the Silver Champion and the Bronze Champion. Unfortunately, we have no control over Day Two pools, and I feel all four of the teams should have gone to Gold.
“It was a wonderful season, and being able to end with a win is not something many people can say leaving a National Championship. In fact, this is only my second time as a head coach leaving with a win in 13 years. Saying that I am proud of them is an understatement: I wish all our seniors the very best of luck with the next phase of their lives. I also want to thank all our amazing sponsors that helped us get to Phoenix. Without them, this huge feat would not have been possible.”
The Phoenix Nationals was the final 2022 tournament for this edition of Pride. During the 2021-22 season, Pride captured 18-under tournament championships at Charleston January Jam in Charleston, Southern Classic in Rock Hill, Savannah Showdown in Savannah, Ga., The Shamrock Scuffle in Suwannee, Ga., Winter Heat in Rock Hill, and the USAV Palmetto Regional Championship in Rock Hill.
Pride features 11 upper-level players from five area high schools: Pickens, Belton-Honea Path, Easley, Walhalla and Wren. Six of the players on this year’s squad are seniors in high school, and this season marked their final one playing for Pride. Those six seniors are Calie Covey, Alaina Craigo, Caroline Lucas and Emma Van Daele, all of Pickens High; Polly McCollum of Easley High; and Payton Burkett of Walhalla High.
Of the players who are high school seniors, Calie Covey will play volleyball this fall at Limestone University in Gaffney; Caroline Lucas will play at Francis Marion University in Florence; Emma Van Daele will play at Lander University in Greenwood; and Payton Burkett will play at Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn.
The assistant Pride coach is Stephanie Cuddy, also of Pickens. Carolina One Volleyball is a locally owned, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting volleyball in Upstate South Carolina. Carolina One is now in its 15th season and is the longest-running volleyball club in the state of South Carolina.