Eight high school volleyball teams converged on Warren Central’s gym for the inaugural Vicksburg Warren Invitational on Saturday. Perhaps the most impressive was the one competing mostly for pride.

Warren Central’s “B” team, comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores from the junior varsity squad, won two of its three matches in the tournament and finished fourth. The JV Lady Vikes beat Vicksburg and Greenville before losing 2-0 (25-11, 25-13) to Madison-St. Joseph in the consolation game.

“For them to finish that high and do as well as they did, I was extremely happy,” Warren Central coach Matthew Gullett said. “Four of our taller girls had to leave early because they were in a wedding. That made a difference in the match against St. Joe when our average height was about 5-5. I was proud of that scrappy group.”

Warren Central beat Vicksburg 2-0 (25-13, 25-13) during the pool play portion of the tournament by serving 21 aces. Katelyn Morson and Jayda Griffin had seven apiece, and Morson also had nine assists.

The JV squad then gutted out a three-set win over Greenville 2-1 (25-20, 20-25, 15-12). Abby Claire Fuller had four aces and three assists, and Morson had five aces and three assists.

Gullett said he was also pleased with the defense played by his back line of Kendyll Stewart and Michell Liu.

“Kendyll Stewart and Michell Liu both looked promising. They had some nice digs and played a very good back row,” Gullett said.

While the JV Lady Vikes shined, the varsity squad had a solid day. The varsity won two matches and lost two, beating Vicksburg and McLaurin by identical 2-0 scores, but losing to Ridgeland and Madison-St. Joe in three sets each.

The Lady Vikes had 46 aces in their two victories, including 18 by Laney Smith. Emily Vandenniuewboer had eight aces in the win over Vicksburg.

“We had some decent serving today,” Gullett said. “We’re trying to really pick our offense up. We played a lot of good defensive ball. I saw some bright points today.”

Gullett was also happy with the tournament itself. Although his school hosted the daylong event, it was a joint effort with Vicksburg High and its coach Ashley Martin. A total of 16 games were played in an eight-hour span as Warren Central’s gym was split into two side-by-side courts.

“We had a really good turnout for being the first time we’ve done a tournament together,” Gullett said. “We thought this would be a great way to build both programs and the sport in our community. It shows the schools can work together to put on a great tournament. We’re hoping with the success of this one, we can continue to move forward.”