Denise Duggins practices a serve during summer workouts.

TIFTON — Tift County’s volleyball team opens its fifth volleyball season Saturday and head coach Dana Fletcher is confident that it will be their best yet.

From its start in 2013, the program has progressed every year. Fletcher has been there nearly all the way.

“I’ve been able to see where they were and where they’re at now,” she said.

The Lady Devils will get an opportunity to show just how far they have come Saturday, where a scrimmage tournament at Lee County starts the season. Tift officially gets going Tuesday, with home matches against Thomas County Central at 5 p.m. and against Lee County at 7 p.m.

Tift started school Tuesday. Practice also officially began Tuesday.

Though it seems such a short period of time between school starting and the first matches, Fletcher is ready for her team to take the court. They have been working all summer and have even been to volleyball camps.

“I’m ready for the girls to get time in game situations,” she said. The scrimmage will also help solidify the lineup; Tift is still working on who the primary servers will be.

The Lady Devils will play seven varsity matches Saturday as well as seven junior varsity matches.

“The girls have been working so hard,” Fletcher said.

And this year, she will have plenty senior leadership to guide them along.

There are four seniors on the roster. Three of them have been playing three years each, with the fourth the team manager from a year ago. All are expected to make a huge impact.

Denise Duggins, the former manager, is “really starting to be a leader,” Fletcher said. An outside hitter, “Her athleticism is really starting to shine.”

Kasey Griffin, said Fletcher, has been “a major player the last three years.” A setter on the court, Fletcher complimented Griffin’s knowledge of the game.

Other major players are Julianna Cross and Danielle Miller. Miller has turned into a dominant server and Cross has “only gotten better as a passer.”

Senior leadership has been a boon for the younger players on the roster.

“Those other players look to them because of that leadership,” said Fletcher.

The 2017 schedule is a mix of teams, with several dates having more than one opponent. The Lady Devils will play Thomasville and Mitchell County at Thomasville Aug. 10.

There is one completely new opponent on the slate: Colquitt County. The Lady Packers started their program this year and immediately jump into an area schedule.

Tift’s four seasons on the court have been marked with steady improvement each year. Fletcher said that team trust on the court and serving have been two of their biggest areas of progress from last season. There is even a middle school program now to give players experience before they reach high school.

The first season of the program’s history saw the Lady Devils advance to the state tournament because of qualifying rules that ended that year. Tift has been battling to get back there ever since.

The Georgia High School Association has yet to lighten its playoff rules. Tift’s conference, Area 1, is composed of the four teams usually in Region 1 (Camden County, Colquitt County, Lowndes and Tift), but only one team makes state.

Area 1 is the only conference to have that distinction, regardless of classification. All others in the state have at least two representatives.