Winona High School started its second season on the volleyball court Tuesday with a match against J.Z. George High School, which is in its first year of playing the sport.
The Lady Tigers won the match 3-0, beating the Lady Jaguars 25-17 in the first set, 25-10 in the second set, and 25-15 in the third set. J.Z. George, under the direction of first-year coach Jamie Robertson, opened its season Monday with a 3-0 loss at Noxapater.
Gunner Nichols, who is in his third year at Winona and second year as volleyball coach, guided the girls to a 6-6 record in 2020.
“Luckily, we had two girls with some background in playing volleyball,” said Nichols, a graduate of Mississippi State University. “We had a solid first year. We played several schools who had been playing for a few years, and we held our own against them. We took Louisville to five sets and they’ve been playing four or five years.
“We had to play as an independent with it being our first year. We had a bunch of young girls last year. After we lost a match to Canton, a team we should have beat, they started listening and buying in to what we were saying to them. This group is excited about this season. We have some girls who played last season and are ready to step up and have a good season.”
Nichols said some of the girls to watch this season include seniors Jasmine McMath and Madyson Small, juniors Amber Stewart, Emma Marshall and Chloe Nix, and eighth graders Eden Leech and Mary Beth Brannon.
“Amber has some experience playing volleyball,” said Nichols. “Jasmine is one of the scrappiest players on the team, and Eden is going to be part of the future.”
Winona and J.Z. George will tangle again Thursday at J.Z. George. The Lady Tigers will be at home Tuesday to take on Ethel High School.
