Centralia has been locked into some tense volleys with Hallsville in the past.

Centralia, North Callaway in Hallsville Photo Gallery

Following last season when they lost in the district title match against the Lady Indians, the Lady Panthers defeated Hallsville in an extra set during a summer scrimmage game at a league night in Hallsville. Centralia finished 2-0 on the night as it also defeated North Callaway in what was the Lady Panthers’ first summer tournament action.

Head coach Julie Crum said the matches with Hallsville are always competitive no matter what time of year it is. Crum said Hallsville wanted to play a third set after splitting the two usual sets with Centralia so she was happy that her team saw another set of experience but ended up being more content.

“I want good competition so they can improve on the things that we focused on last year and pushed to this season,” Crum said. “Playing Hallsville is always an excellent opportunity to face a competitive team and really fine-tune a lot of those skills we really need to play a more competitive team.”

This summer, Crum said Centralia has hosted a middle school tournament that included the upcoming freshmen so they could become acclimated, and the Lady Panthers still plan to host a team camp and go to a camp in Jefferson City.

Crum said she excited for the season to start as the group this year has shown much potential already. She said she is putting some underclassmen into the mix but also has the talent of the senior class like all-district players Katie Carrico, Lexi Cook, Harper Forshee and Morgan Ross, who will return soon from a torn knee sustained during basketball season.

“We know when every season starts, it’s different because you just lost people from last season,” Crum said. “They’re still trying to figure out how to play with each other, but they’re really starting to gel really well, which makes me really excited for the season.”