The Charleston Lady Tigers volleyball team held its annual Black / White preseason scrimmage last Thursday evening. Scrimmages were held with 7th and 8th grade teams, junior high and freshmen teams, and a senior high scrimmage. Many Charleston fans attended the scrimmage to support their Lady Tigers.
It was easy to see by the number of players in each grade level that Coach Ryan Rachuy is building a competitive volleyball program in Charleston. Following the night’s scrimmages, Rachuy commented, “The girls that come out for me, I am really pleased with them, they really want to play volleyball, they want to give their time and effort, and I am just really impressed with that. Grades 7 – 12, they really give the effort. Junior high is really trying to kick up, and our senior high girls, if they clean up just a few things, they will be really solid.”
As the long summer of practice and preparation nears an end, Rachuy’s Lady Tigers are getting tired of playing each other and are ready to play other schools. “They’re kind of tired of going after each other, so, getting into the season will be a good thing for us. They know that when you get into the season, all the fun and games are over, it’s time to get serious on the court. We want to have fun, we want to enjoy our time with each other out there, but we go out there to play and be a successful team. That’s the reason we go out there.”
The Lady Tigers will host Hackett on Tuesday, August 20, 4:30 p.m., in a preseason match to benefit the Arkansas Activities Association’s catastrophic injury fund. The match will be the Lady Tigers final home appearance before the start of the 2019 season. When asked to comment on the fan support for the Lady Tiger volleyball team, Coach Rachuy said he wants a big fan turnout for the Lady Tigers’ match versus Hackett. “This is a great community, it’s a great school, a great student body, great administration that supports us. We have today approximately 200-250 out here today supporting us and they are watching nobody but Charleston. Whenever we get another place in here, other schools’ fans, this place will be really loud. We want this place to be filled and be really exciting!”
