JEMISON – Tuesday marked the first time Maplesville’s volleyball team played against another squad.

MHS in the fall will field its first volleyball team, and the Red Devils on Tuesday sped up the learning curve by participating in exhibition matches hosted by Jemison.

“We’ve come leaps and bounds since tryouts,” coach Kathy Plumb said. “We came and watched yesterday, and that was the first volleyball game some of these girls had ever seen.

“We’ll just practice harder now. They will know what to practice after something like this.”

Chilton County, Thorsby and West Blocton also participated in the event.

Plumb has more experience than her team. She coached at Class 6A Shaw High School in Mobile for 13 years, including an area championship in the early 1990s.

Plumb didn’t come to Maplesville four years ago to start a volleyball program, but school Principal Maggie Hicks thought Plumb would be perfect for the job when several students expressed an interest in playing the sport.

“If it’s what they want, then I’m all for it,” Hicks said.

Plumb said she thinks the sport could become popular at Maplesville.

“Several girls have come up to since we had tryouts, saying they were interested in playing,” she said. “I think, as we continue the program, it’s just going to grow.”