Two Alamance County High Schools Launch New Boys Volleyball Programs

Eastern Alamance and Southeast Alamance high schools have each launched boys' volleyball programs, stepping into a sport that has been gaining ground across North Carolina despite lacking official sanction from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Southeast, located on South Highway 119 in Haw River, assembled roughly a dozen players under head coach Natasha Watson. Eastern put together about 10 players and turned to Alarie Watson, a former girls' volleyball coach at Woodlawn Middle School, to lead the program. Both teams will compete in the spring season under a best-of-5 match format.

Southeast athletics director B.J. Condron acknowledged the experimental nature of the venture. "It's just something we're trying," he said. "A group in North Carolina is making a push to do it." Condron noted that Southeast had considered forming a team as far back as 2025, and he said the program may require adjustments for players who already participate in volleyball during physical education classes. "I'm interested to see what the product looks like," he added.

Eastern athletics director Brad Costa framed his school's entry into boys' volleyball as a straightforward decision, contrasting it with the more complicated rollout of girls' flag football, which Eastern and Southeast were the only two Alamance County schools to field in the fall. "There's already a structure in place," Costa said. "We're joining something that already exists."

That structure includes a schedule of opponents spanning the region. Among the teams Eastern and Southeast are set to face are Jordan-Matthews, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Cary Academy, Seaforth, Eno River Academy, Southern Durham, Panther Creek, Greensboro Smith, Greensboro Page, and Roxboro Community. Eastern's MaxPreps team page, active as of February 1, also lists Phoenix Academy and Riverside-Durham on its schedule at a glance. Asheboro is fielding a boys' volleyball team for the first time as well, and Cedar Ridge is also participating, though neither is listed as a direct opponent for the two Alamance County programs.

The growth of boys' volleyball echoes the trajectory of girls' flag football, which NCHSAA leaders have discussed as a potential future sanctioned sport. Boys' volleyball remains outside that umbrella for now, but the number of programs entering the sport suggests the pressure to formalize it will continue to build.