The Antioch Community High School girls volleyball teams scrimmaged against each other, freshman vs. sophomores and sophomores vs. varsity, at the annual Kick-Off Night at ACHS on Aug. 22.

You could feel the excitement out on the court and in the stands as the girls supported and encouraged each other during the games. In the first game between the freshman and sophomores, the freshman captured a win against the sophomores, with an end score of 25-18.

In the second game between the sophomores and varsity team, varsity started out strong, but the sophomores came out on top, beating varsity with a score of 15-13.

“I think we are a very experienced team and will do very well this season. We could work on our passing and being strong as a team, but we all work together and motivate each other by being loud in the stands,” said sophomore Rebecca Cleven, who plays right side on the floor.

“I think we’re going to make it all the way to state. But we need to work on clicking and communication, definitely communication,” varsity volleyball coach Jamie Atkinson said. “We have a large group of seniors who have a lot of experience. They’re quite the leadership group and know what they’re doing. And on top of that, they have all played together for a long time, so it’s kind of a nice thing to see them all come back together again.”

After the scrimmages ended, Atkinson said, “I liked what I saw. I liked our defensive coverage. I liked seeing our hitters move off of different setters and that they attempted to cheer and talk to each other, that’s very important to me.”

The girls volleyball team will play their first game against Grant Community High School at Grant on Friday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m.