PICKENS – For the Lady Blue Flame volleyball team, another AAA state championship is on their minds – but of course first, they must make it past the stiff competition in the playoffs. Pickens’ first round appearance was solid as they defeated the Greenville Red Raiders in three games.

The first game started out fast with Pickens dominating the court. However, Greenville came back strong trying to even up the score. Pickens ultimately won 25 -23.

The second game didn’t look as promising as Greenville had a quick 4-0 lead. However, Pickens came back to win 25-10.

In the third game, Greenville put up a strong fight to keep their playoff hopes alive. There were several ties throughout the game. But Pickens ultimately made some big plays at vital times to win the game and advance to the second round of the state playoffs winning 26-24.

Pickens will play the winner of the Lugoff-Elgin and Clinton game on Oct. 29. If Lugoff-Elgin wins, Pickens will play away, but if Clinton wins, Pickens will have a home game

on Thursday.

For updates on Pickens’ tournament play, visit the Web site www.pickenssentinel.com or look for the results in the Nov. 4 edition of The Pickens Sentinel.