Volleyball is in the air, and the Charleston High School Lady Tigers will play their first competition Thursday at Water Valley beginning at 5:30 p.m.
CHS will host their home opener against the same team on Monday, Aug. 11. A junior varsity match will get underway at 5, followed by the varsity squad upon its conclusion.
Admission is $7.
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“I am really personally very excited about” the start of volleyball season, said East Tallahatchie School District Athletic Director LaDon Taylor, adding, “The young ladies seem to be very excited as well.”
This is only the second year that Charleston High School will field a team in the sport, having dipped their toes into the waters as an independent squad in 2024.
This year, they are slotted in a division with J.Z. George, Leland, M.S. Palmer and Northside, explained Taylor.
The AD said the district is hoping to rally the school’s athletic fans around the sport while also building the volleyball program from within.
“We’re trying to really get it going,” said Taylor, noting that the plan is to incorporate eighth-grade girls and to eventually even develop a junior high volleyball program that can feed sport-savvy athletes into the varsity arena.
Taylor said it is hoped that junior varsity games can be played through much of the season but added that will depend upon the availability of opposing team junior varsity competition.
For those unfamiliar with the rules of the sport, Taylor said volleyball matches are made up of games.
Match play consists of competing until one junior varsity team wins two out of three games. Varsity play ends when a team has won three out of five.
For junior varsity, Taylor said games are played to 25 points. If a third game is necessary, a winner is named at 15 points.
Varsity teams play to 25 points in each of the first four games, assuming a fourth game is required. If a fifth game is necessary to break a tie, the winner is the team that compiles 15 points, Taylor explained.
Charleston’s regular season consists of 14 outings, eight of which are scheduled for the friendly confines of home.
As an officially sanctioned sport, Taylor said volleyball teams of Mississippi High School Activities Association member schools compete for district titles, playoff berths and even state championships.
Charleston is coached this season by Al’Lishia Hudson and Christopher Suggs, Taylor noted.
Editor's note: The original schedule submitted by LaDon Taylor on Sunday, Aug. 3, was published in The Sun-Sentinel's print edition on Aug. 7, but he has sent a revised schedule which is included with this website story.
