Nicole Schrader is entering her seventh season as the varsity volleyball coach at Zalma High School. There are eight girls playing this season. Practice for the high schoolers began Aug. 12.

The first match of the season is Thursday, Aug. 29, as Zalma will host Eagle Ridge. The next day, the Bulldogs face Greenville.

The roster includes seniors Nekoda Burnett and Cambry Burnett; junior Kayden Henderschott; sophomores Sam Kirkpatrick and Kate Ladd; and freshmen Anna James, Aizlynn Freeman and Alyssa Sitze.

“I’ve got a lot of younger talent coming up, and I’m hoping to get them adjusting to the varsity match level,” Schrader said.

Communication will be key, according to Schrader.

“We’ve really worked hard on that the last few practices,” Schrader said. The squad takes part in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Additional home matches are against Kelly (Sept. 9), Marquand-Zion (Sept. 12), Woodland (Sept. 19), Oran (Sept. 30), Meadow Heights (Oct. 1), Risco (Oct. 7), Richland Essex (Oct. 11) and North Pemiscot (Oct. 22).

The Bulldogs will take part in three tournaments this season. They include: The Woodland Invitational (Sept. 3-6), SEMO Dig 4 Life (Sept. 13 and 14) and MVC Tournament (Oct. 5). District play is scheduled for Oct. 25-29.

For next week’s Woodland Invite, Zalma is seeded no. 8 and takes on top-seeded Leopold Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m. In addition to the host Woodland Cardinals, other squads in that upcoming competition are Meadow Heights, Bell City, Greenville, Perryville and Oak Ridge.

Assisting Schrader this season will be Kalie Payne.