By Staff
W.S. Neal will have some noticeable changes on its 2004 volleyball schedule, while T.R. Miller's slate has only minimal differences.
The Lady Blue Eagles have three new opponents on the upcoming regular season schedule. W.S. Neal will host Opp as part of a tri-match with T.R. Miller on September 21. The Lady Blue Eagles will return the favor and travel to Opp in the October 14 regular season finale.
Another newcomer to the W.S. Neal schedule is Andalusia. The Lady Blue Eagles will journey there on September 16.
A third new opponent to the schedule is Northview (Fla.). W.S. Neal will play Northview as part of a tri-match at Escambia County on September 7. The Lady Blue Eagles will hook up with Northview again when they travel to the Sunshine State on October 12.
W.S. Neal is scheduled to take part in two tournaments next season. It will be a part of the field at Clarke County on September 25 and at Escambia County on October 9.
The season and home opener will be August 31 with a match against 2003 Area 1 champ Clarke County.
"We've cut down on the number of tri-matches we have next season. We only have three, but we've added eight junior varsity matches to our schedule. I'm anticipating a pretty good number of players next year, especially younger players, and the junior varsity games will give those players a chance to play and develop," W.S. Neal coach Kraig Rittenhouse said. "We had to cut back on our tri-matches in order to play the junior varsity games."
Rittenhosue said he still hopes to add one more match to the current schedule before it is complete. Here is the tentative W.S. Neal schedule.
W.S. Neal 2004 volleyball
Aug. 31 Clarke County Home (V, JV)
Sept. 2 Thomasville Away
Sept. 7 Tri-match at Escambia County with Northview (Fla.)
Sept. 13 Clarke County Away (V, JV)
Sept. 14 Tri-match at Home with Thomasville and Escambia County
Sept. 16 Andalusia Away (V, JV)
Sept. 21 Tri-match at home with T.R. Miller and Opp
Sept. 23 Escambia County Away (V, JV)
Sept. 25 Clarke County Tournament
Sept. 30 Flomaton Home (V, JV)
Oct. 5 Flomaton Away (V, JV)
Oct. 7 T.R. Miller Away
Oct. 9 Escambia County Tournament
Oct. 12 Northview Away (V, JV)
See BITS Page 7
Oct. 14 Opp Away (V, JV)
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There is only one new opponent on the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers schedule for 2004.
That would be Jay (Fla.). The Lady Tigers will travel to Jay for a pair of varsity matches on October 11.
Although not new to the schedule, T.R. Miller has an interesting scenario with Central (Fla.). The Lady Tigers closed out the regular season last year with a match at Central. This year T.R. Miller will open the campaign August 30 at home with a pair of matches against Central.
T.R. Miller will once again be a part of the Clarke County Tournament on September 25 and the Escambia County Tournament on October 9.
"Other than just changing dates for home and away, our schedule is pretty much the same as last year other than adding Jay and moving Central from the end of the season to the start," T.R. Miller coach Sharon Peacock said. "Right now I don't expect our schedule to change any more between now and the start of the season."
Here is T.R. Miller's schedule.
T.R. Miller 2004 volleyball
Aug. 30 Central Home
Aug. 31 Thomasville Away
Sept. 2 Tri-match at Home with Escambia County and Andalusia
Sept. 7 Flomaton Away
Sept. 9 Clarke County Away
Sept. 14 Tri-match at Andalusia
Sept. 16 Opp Home
Sept. 21 W.S. Neal Away
Sept. 25 Clarke County Tournament
Sept. 28 Tri-Match at Home with Flomaton and Thomasville
Oct. 5 Tri-match at Escambia County with Opp
Oct. 7 W.S. Neal Home
Oct. 9 Escambia County Tournament
Oct. 11 Jay Away
Oct. 14 Clarke County Home
NOTE: The Class 3A Area 1 Tournament for W.S. Neal, T.R. Miller and Clarke County will be held October 18 at a site to be announced.
The Area field for next season has been reduced to just three teams, as Sumter County has been reassigned to Area 5 with Midfield and Northside.