The Charles Henderson high School volleyball team will open its season Thursday after more than two weeks of hard practices that began on the first day of school.

Despite the tough practices, head coach Jennifer Sikes said the team has performed well in practice, even though it is young and has suffered some injury issues.

“They’ve done well,” Sikes said.

“I’ve only got two seniors, so we’ve got a pretty young team. We’ve had three preseason injuries. I had two girls move, so I’ve had to adjust the starting lineup. They’re working hard and looking decent.”

The youth of the team is apparent when looking at the roster, a roster that includes a whopping nine freshmen.

“I have nine freshmen that are coming up, so I’m looking forward to having them,” Sikes said.

While there are a high number of freshmen, there is some experience, namely in the form of five returning starters.

“They don’t have much experience at the varsity level,” Sikes said.

“I’ve got a couple that have come up that have experience. I don’t have any that have much experience besides my five returning starters.”

The game Thursday will be against Dothan, a school that Sikes is familiar with.

“I taught at Dothan High for 10 years, and this is the first time we’ve played them since I left down there,” Sikes said.

“This is the first time in seven years that we’ve played them.”

Sikes said her familiarity with Dothan should lead to a fun atmosphere for the game.

“I have a lot of good friends down there,” Sikes said.

“I love Dothan High. It’ll be nice to see everybody, but I know there will be a lot of new faces. Coach Patricia Ball and I are friends, so it’ll be fun. It won’t be so intense.”

Charles Henderson and Dothan will square off at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.