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NATCHEZ — For the first time in school history, Natchez High School will field a volleyball team after the Natchez Adams School District recently announced it has added the sport for the 2021-2022 school year.

Natchez High athletic director Alphaka Moore said the inaugural season will start in August and the matches would be played at Morgantown Middle School. She said a schedule would be coming out soon. The Bulldogs named Jamal McCullen their head coach.

“He has coached the middle school football team for the last couple of years,” Moore said. “He said he was interested in coaching volleyball, so we named him the new volleyball coach.”

Moore said that the process of hiring a head coach had been in the works since the process of starting a volleyball program at Natchez High began a few months ago. She said she does not know how many assistant coaches will be on McCullen’s staff.

Girls in the seventh through 12^th grades can play on the team and tryouts will be held in the basketball gym from July 19 through July 21. Session one is from 9 to 11 a.m., session two is from 12 to 2 p.m., and session three is from 3 to 5 p.m.

Moore said she does not know yet how many players will be on the team.

“We have interest meetings for those who want to participate (this Friday) Tryouts are on July 19. He hasn’t selected his roster,” Moore said.

Moore said the idea for Natchez High having volleyball in the first place came from talking with representatives with the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) and the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC).

“I saw that there has been a lot of participation in volleyball in a lot of schools across Mississippi. We have a lot of good (girls’) athletes. But basketball and softball are our main sports,” Moore said. “Volleyball is another sport for young ladies to compete in in the state of Mississippi. It provides a lot of opportunities for collegiate scholarships as well.”