Volleyball courts are packed again in Lexington County as the season officially gets underway. 

A few weeks into the season, and some teams are already standing out as the ones to watch this year. Schools like Gray Collegiate, White Knoll, Lexington and Northside Christian have gotten off to great starts. 

The War Eagles come into this week (6-3) through their first nine games. Two of the team’s three losses came in the first contests of Gray’s season-opening tournament. 

Since then, the War Eagles are (6-1) with wins over Aiken, Oceanside, Lexington and Charlotte’s Ardrey Kell. 

Gray has succeeded this season thanks to a deep and talented group, who all pull their own weight. Four different players have already accumulated over 25 kills. 

White Knoll, Chapin and Northside are the last remaining undefeated teams, entering this week a combined (9-0) this season. 

The Timberwolves have dominated in their contests against Ridge View, Airport and Brookland-Cayce. White Knoll has yet to lose a single set this season. The team will play three more games this week. 

Chapin beat Cardinal Newman last week to also improve to (3-0). The Eagles previously picked up a pair of wins against Hammond. 

Northside Christian has looked sharp as well, despite not playing a single home game in any of its first three contests. The Crusaders have wins over Pelion, Spartanburg Christian and Hammond. The team will play its first home game this week. 

Elsewhere in the county, Lexington and River Bluff have started the year with high and low points. The two have been the teams to watch in Lexington County the past few seasons, and are expected to be very competitive again. 

Each team is hovering right around 0.500 coming into this week, with another full slate of games scheduled. 

As the non-region portion of the schedule continues, Lexington and River Bluff will figure more things out. 

Pair them with Chapin and White Knoll, and this year’s race for the region title looks to be an exciting one. 

Last week’s top performances

Kate Shealy finished with 13 kills and five aces as Batesburg-Leesville beat Airport. 

Karis Kettering had 18 kills for River Bluff in the Gators’ win over South Aiken. 

Lindsay Hodges filled the stat sheet with 20 assists, 20 digs, five kills, three blocks and an ace.

Aubrie Lockhart was excellent on the serve line, scoring seven aces to pair with nine assists. 

Kaylie Spires had six kills, three assists and nine digs as Gilbert got its first win of the season. 

Upcoming games to watch 

Dutch Fork vs. Blythewood - Sept. 3

Airport vs. Brookland-Cayce - Sept. 3

Chapin vs. Palmetto Christian - Sept. 8 

Lexington vs. North Augusta - Sept. 8