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Josie Santos is one of three returning starters.

Panola Fillies Volleyball team will play its first game at 11 a.m. Friday in Tyler.

The Panola College Fillies volleyball team will kick off this season this weekend in the Tyler Jr. College Tournament.  The Fillies, which have been a consistent name in the NJCAA Top 25 poll for the last 3 years, and hope to make a return trip to the National Tournament in November and the National Championship. They are currently ranked 23rd in the NJCAA 2011 Preseason Poll.

Coach Nicole Thorn has put together a tough schedule to help prepare her team for the run at the Nationals.  They begin this weekend at Tyler Jr. College Tournament against Laredo College on Friday at 11 a.m., then at 3 p.m. they will face last years' NJCAA Runnerup and 9th ranked San Jacinto College.  On Saturday the Fillies will play Coastal Bend and Wharton at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively.

This year the Fillies play 6 of the top 15 teams in the country.  On Sept. 7 the Fillies will host the #14th ranked team from Temple College, and on Sept. 9-10 in the Woodlands Wave Tournament in Houston they will play #7 Salt Lake Community College, #5 College of Southern Idaho, then #9 San Jacinto College.

On Sept. 13 the Fillies will open conference play by hosting Tyler Jr. College at 6 p.m. Then on Sept. 17 they will play in a Tri-match in Dallas against #8 Midland College.

This Fillies are returning only three starters from last years team and are led by NJCAA All-American Josie Santos.