Beth Rutland wanted her varsity volleyball team to get off to a hot start, but she did not mean it literally.

Playing in their first scrimmages of the season, the Lady Badgers were forced to put up with some extreme heat inside the Gatesville gymnasium where they played their first three scrimmages of the season Friday afternoon.

With no air-conditioning for almost the entire four-team scrimmage session, the Lady Badgers had a successful outing against new district foe Taylor before they suffered a setback against Gatesville and played a tight match against Killeen.

Rutland pointed to the heat as a primary reason for the team’s struggles over the final two matches.

“After playing back-to-back matches in no AC, they were exhausted,” the coach said of her players.

Although scores were not kept officially during the 45-minute scrimmages, the Lady Badgers defeated Taylor by approximately 20 points in their first match before taking an hour and a half break.

Left: Lampasas senior Madison Morris prepares to deliver a serve during the Lady Badgers’ scrimmage against Taylor in Gatesville Friday afternoon. Above: Hailey Morrison picks herself off the floor after a dig. PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Lampasas then returned to the court for consecutive matches in the sweltering gym. The Lady Badgers lost both but were within five points of their opponents when time expired.

On Saturday morning, the Lady Badgers traveled to Cameron, where they participated in another fourteam scrimmage at Cameron Yoe High School and played three more matches, including a second bout against Taylor.

Additionally, Lampasas faced Thrall and Cameron.

The six-match marathon was the final tune-up for the Lady Badgers who will open their season tonight in a dual match against Manor (4 p.m.) and Killeen Shoemaker (7 p.m.).

“We had some real good highlights, and we found some areas we need to work on,” Rutland said of the fourteam scrimmages. “We worked on some things for the first time, and we really showed some promise.”