Area high school volleyball season to begin with a bang

For years, Carolina Forest volleyball coach Brittany Drew had troubling convincing programs from around the state to participate in her team’s preseason tournament.

That no longer is the case, however, as a lengthy list of programs around the state are now forced to wait their turn for participation in the Carolina Forest Panther Volleyball Invitational.

Another installment of the annual volleyball tournament will take place on Saturday at Carolina Forest High School. Fifteen teams from around the Palmetto State have committed to participate in the event, which begins with pool play at 8 a.m.

The tourney final is expected to take place at approximately 5:30 p.m.

“I can promise that the tournament didn’t start out this big,” Drew said. “It began as a local thing, then we expanded to two tournaments – one for local programs and one more for the state as a whole. But this format certainly fits us best.”

Among those taking part in this year’s event is Aiken, which claimed the event title last year, and tourney mainstay Ashley Ridge. For Carolina Forest, the tournament provides several perks, among them the opportunity to see where it measures up.

“We’re a strong program, one that’s been quite consistent,” Drew said. “But we also have goals that we’ve set, and we’re looking to build on them. An event like this gives us a chance to see programs from here in Horry County and those from elsewhere as well. We will get an indication of what we need to do in preparation for our own season, and see how we match up.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Area high school volleyball season to begin with a bang."