The Warren Central girl’s volleyball team started its season Tuesday, and while it didn’t snag a win, the squad proved  just how far the program has come. The Lady Vikes jumped ahead of Ridgeland by winning the first game but couldn’t capitalize on the early momentum, falling in four games to lose the match.

“All around, a great volleyball game. Ridgeland’s got a very good little program. They’re a very competitive team,” head coach Matt Gullett said. “I had a lot of starters out here who started a varsity game for the first time. We’ve got an up-and-coming team.”

Warren Central used back-to-back aces by Aquarius Crook to build a 5-1 lead in the first game and held off a Titan comeback to win 25-23. Ridgeland reversed the trend in the second game by scoring the first five points, ultimately compiling an 11-1 lead before a Kayla Mayfield kill ended the scoring drought for the Lady Vikes. Warren Central could not recover from the large deficit, however, and fell 25-17.

Mayfield used an emphatic spike in game three to swing momentum and tie things up at five, but Ridgeland didn’t let up. The Titans battled point for point with Warren Central before ultimately coming out victorious despite multiple unforced errors and back-to-back aces from Tae Hubbard.

In the fourth and final game, Warren Central seemed to be cruising toward a fifth matchup. But down 24-21, Ridgeland orchestrated a furious comeback, scoring the game’s final six points to win the match.

Despite the loss, Gullett said he was proud of the way his team played against a solid Ridgeland squad.

“Measuring how we’ve played them before, we’ve come a long way. We’re looking for a good season,” he said. “We’ve got a tough district ahead of us between Clinton, Madison (Central) and Northwest Rankin, but if we play like we did tonight we’ll compete.”

Even though Warren Central was missing starter Shay Bracey, who Gullett described as his MVP from last season, the Lady Vikes still hung around in all four games with two players who don’t normally start. It was a performance that has given the whole team confidence as a new year begins.

“This is really our fourth year in development,” Gullett said. “I’ve watched four years of playing a first game, and that’s a best first game we’ve ever played. I’m really happy to see what I saw.”