The South Effingham volleyball team recently participated in four scrimmage games against area teams. The playdate was meant to give each squad a taste of what to expect during the regular season and it was Richmond Hill that answered the most questions for the Lady Mustangs.

“I was very impressed with Richmond Hill,” said South Effingham head coach Chauncey Garrett. “It helps us know what we need to look out for. It was really good to be able to play in a game setting that doesn’t have as much pressure as a game was really valuable.” 

The Lady Mustangs beat Effingham County, Jenkins and New Hampstead. Their only loss came to Richmond Hill. It was a close contest that went down to the wire.

“It was a pretty close game,” Garrett said. “Once we got down to the last 30 minutes, my girls kind of woke up. (Richmond Hill has) some really good hitters and one of them is already committed to play in college. They are really big competition for us this year. 

“I love seeing them in a scenario where we know where they are going. In the scrimmages during the summer ,we have time to rearrange some things. We tried some different lineups to see if someone excelled in a different position.”

For rising junior Kayla Arnold, getting back on the court with her teammates was exciting but it also showed what areas need improvement. 

“It was a really good day,” Arnold said. “We need to work on our serves. The coaches are good at finding what we need to work on.” 

Garrett has been playing around with the lineup, going back and forth between a 6-2 and 5-1 formation. She is confident that her team will be able to handle whatever comes its way if it has to change things up at the last minute. 

“We wanted to work on our lineup and coach through the scrimmage,” Garrett said. “It was an awesome practice opportunity. Even when I threw them some curve balls they were able to work through it.

“If we have injuries or anything like other lineups we can still be competitive.”