The Clarke Central High School varsity volleyball team plays against Jackson County High School in the CCHS Competition Gym on Oct. 2. The team has held regular practices on weekdays from 6:30-8 a.m. to prepare for the first game of the Region 8-AAAAA tournament, which will take place against Habersham Central High School on Oct. 6. “I feel like we’ve definitely (improved), even though we’ve lost a good bit of our games, we’ve definitely all improved as a team and just gotten better throughout the season,” CCHS varsity volleyball outside hitter Mady Nixon, a senior, said. Photo by Maypop Wren
The CCHS varsity volleyball team will play their first match of the 2025-26 season Region 8-AAAAA tournament against Habersham Central High School on Oct. 6.
The Clarke Central High School varsity volleyball team will play Habersham Central High School in the first round of the 2025-26 season Region 8-AAAAA tournament at Jackson County High School on Oct. 6 at 5 p.m..
The Gladiators ended their regular season with an overall record of 5-21 and a Region 8-AAAAA record of 2-10. For the Region 8-AAAAA double elimination tournament, which will take place between Oct. 6, 7 and 9, Region 8-AAAAA teams have been seeded one to seven, with the Gladiators placed at No. 6 and HCHS at No. 3.
“The higher seed will go against the lowest seed,” CCHS head varsity volleyball coach Stacey Scott said. “If you lose (in) the first round of (the) tournament, you have to work your way out of the loser’s bracket. So, the higher the seed, (the) easier (it is) to stay.”
“I think (this season’s) been very good. Even though we have (had) our ups and downs, I think our bond is not just (as) teammates, it’s also as friends. We all help each other out.”
— Naomi Benavides,
CCHS varsity volleyball libero and junior
The double elimination aspect of the tournament means that the Gladiators must lose twice to be fully eliminated. The tournament is the deciding factor of which schools will make it to the 2025-26 state championship playoffs and because Region 8-AAAAA contains only seven teams, it takes two wins to qualify for the playoffs.
“Last year at the tournament, (the team) actually did pretty well,” Scott said. “We did end up going into the loser’s bracket, but they advanced out of it. (In) the (game) for state, they ended up losing.”
The Clarke Central High School varsity volleyball team practices receiving serves in the CCHS Competition Gym on Oct. 3. The Gladiators lost their final game of the regular season against the top-ranked team in Region 8-AAAAA, Jackson County High School, 2-0. “The biggest thing that we struggled with (against JCHS) was (receiving serves) and (our) coverage of hitters and blockers. So, that (was) the main focus (of practice),” Scott said. Video by Mzée Pavlic
While the Gladiator’s lost both of their games against HCHS this year, the team is hopeful due to the bonds the team has built over the season.
“I think (this season’s) been very good. Even though we have (had) our ups and downs, I think our bond is not just (as) teammates, it’s also as friends. We all help each other out,” CCHS varsity volleyball libero Naomi Benavides, a junior, said.
