The Straughn Lady Tigers waltzed through the regular season with a staggering 23-3 record, and they will host the Class 3A, Area 2 volleyball tournament on Monday in the Straughn High School gym.

Straughn head volleyball coach said that regardless of what their record may be, the Lady Tigers will have to be ready to play.

“We know coming into the tournament that we can’t take any of these teams lightly,” Rodgers said. “Geneva and Opp have both taken us to five sets so we know they are going to play us tough.”

Rodgers said that Slocomb will also be tough team to face in the tournament.

“Before we even get to Geneva or Opp, we have to get past Slocomb,” Rodgers said. “They are a team that if you give them an inch, they are going to take a mile. We saw them play over the weekend and they are much improved from the last time we saw them. We are going to have to be ready to play. With the way this tournament is set up, I don’t see any cakewalks like there have been in the past.”

Heading into the area tournament, Rodgers said that setting has been one of the Lady Tigers’ strong suits.

“We have been getting really good sets from Sarah Langford,” Rodgers said. “When you play teams that play aggressive you get a lot of digs, but that doesn’t always mean that you can get a set and Sarah has done a great job getting a lot of those. We have other girls who have done a good job becoming setters if Sarah can’t get to it.”

Serve receiving has also been something that Rodgers has been impressed with from his Lady Tigers.

“We have had a pretty big improvement in confidence when it comes to serve receives,” Rodgers said. “Coming into the season, we only had three players returning that had previous varsity experience. I’m very proud of the way they have gained confidence throughout the season. Really, there have been improvements everywhere each week and as a coach that’s what you are looking for.”

One of the toughest task would be playing on Monday.

“It’s tough to play on Monday,” Rodgers said. “You have to bring your best to the tournament and it can be hard to do that on Monday, but the teams that come hungry and focused are going to be the teams that are successful. We have to come hungry, focused and ready to play the two best games that we have played all year.”

Straughn’s first game of the tournament will be against Slocomb on Monday.