2024 high school volleyball preview: Tharptown Lady Wildcats

The Tharptown High School varsity volleyball team will be on the prowl and hopeful for postseason play this year as the Lady Wildcats enter the 2024 campaign with a seasoned roster. Tharptown head coach Kamri Fleming, entering her fifth season in charge of the program, said the Lady Wildcats have struggled in past seasons, but she’s optimistic that this team’s experience can be a decisive factor.

“The year before last we were a bunch of eighth- and ninth-graders, and last year we were a bunch of ninth- and 10th-graders,” Fleming said. “But now this year we’re 10th- and 11-graders and we’re older and more mature. I think that’s going to be a big difference for us.”

Among her players Fleming pointed out two in particular who the Lady Wildcats will be relying on to help them have a successful season. One is Carly Cason who, standing at 6-foot-1, is Tharptown’s tallest player. 

“(Cason) played last year and she’s played every year, but last year was her first year on varsity, so that was a learning year for her,” Fleming said. “This year, since she does have that year of experience, she looks more mature and more comfortable and she’s done really well for us this summer. I’m looking for her to help us out a lot this season.”

Fleming said Cason’s superior height is an asset, but it also means the Lady Wildcats will be looking to her to make plays at the net.

“At 6-foot-1 our tallest player is Carly, and the next tallest player we have after her is like 5-foot-6. That really makes a big difference defensively on the outside,” she said. “My outside blocker that plays on the right side is, I think, 5-foot-3, so you’re giving up a block there. That means we’re going to rely a lot on Carly to block in all three positions.”

A lack of height on the team, an uncontrollable factor for any high school program, is one area Fleming said the Lady Wildcats will have to play around this season.

“We’re pretty good defensively, but we struggle offensively hitting the ball. It’s not that we can’t do it, but it’s just that we’re kind of small,” she said. “We’re going to have to learn to use what we’ve got to be better offensively.”

The other key player Fleming picked out was Karrah Nichols, one of Tharptown’s veterans on the court.

“I think Karrah Nichols will have a good year for us,” Fleming said. “She’s played on varsity for me every year since she was in the seventh grade, so I think this year she’ll be able to make a bigger difference. She’ll be more experienced and I believe she’ll be able to carry us more offensively and defensively.”

Typically, with more experience comes more expectations. Fleming believes this is the year the Lady Wildcats, if they put in the effort, can make it to the playoffs.

“I think that we can make a run to the postseason, but it’s going to depend on the girls and how hard they’re willing to work,” said Fleming, whose program plays in Class 2A Area 14. “I feel like in terms of the county we can be pretty competitive with everyone, and as far as area goes I feel like we can be competitive with every team there, as well. We played Covenant (Christian) this summer, and we played really well against them.”

For Tharptown in 2024, Fleming said a lot will come down to confidence.

“To me, confidence is the one thing that we really struggle with,” she said. “We know we can do it, but being confident and doing it repetitively has been our biggest issue. As far as talent goes, we know we have talent, but being confident and producing it and getting it to show through what we’re doing is where we struggle. If we can be confident then I think we can compete with everyone.”