Sparta over Pinckneyville
26-24, 18-25, 25-20
On senior night, Sparta edged Pinckneyville 26-24, 18-25, 25-20 in SIRR Mississippi volleyball action.
Down 24-21 in the first set, things didn’t look too good for the Lady Bulldogs, however they parlayed five Gabby Gallois serves into a 26-24 come-from-behind win.
Pinckneyville came right back to take set two 25-18 behind a very strong hitting attack only to have Sparta respond by taking the seesaw third set 25-20 for the match win.
The three seniors recognized before the match were Jessica Robinson, a first year participant in volleyball, Julian Sroka and Jamie Woodworth both four year players.
Jessica Robinson had 15 kills to go along with six assist blocks. Karli Hanna added five kills. Victoria Ward added 16 assists.
In a unique quirk of the schedule, Sparta will face Pinckneyville in three of the last four matches including the first round matchup in the Sparta Regional. They met earlier in the season with Sparta edging the Panthers in that one as well.
“It’s a big win for us because we will be playing these guys next Tuesday at their place and then back here in the regional on Thursday, October 28,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “I’m so happy for the seniors to be able to go out with this win. We still have a lot of volleyball left, we need to stay focused and do what we can do and stay within ourselves.” 

Sparta will travel to league champion Nashville on Thursday before traveling to Pinckneyville Tuesday to finish out the regular season. With the win Sparta improves to 16-14 overall and 3-5 in the River-to-River Conference.

Steeleville over Dupo 25-11, 25-11
Brooke Rees and Alex Gale combined for 13 kills to lead Steeleville past Dupo in straight sets Tuesday 25-11, 25-11.
Rees finished with six kills, two points and two assists, while Gale added seven kills, four points, an ace, an assist and two digs.
Brooke Cates chipped in with two kills, 11 points, one ace and one dig in the win.
Chester over Zeigler-Royalton 25-20, 27-25
Chester picked up its third conference win of the season with a 25-20, 27-25 victory over Zeigler-Royalton Tuesday on the road.
Tiffani Marshall led the Lady Jackets with eight kills and three block points, while Jordan Clendenin added three kills, nine points and two aces.
With the win, Chester improved to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
Carterville over Sparta 29-27, 25-17
Untimely and unforced mistakes led to a 29-27, 25-17 Carterville victory over Sparta Thursday in SIRR Mississippi volleyball action.
The Lady Bulldogs let a 24-21 lead slip away in set one en route to a 29-27 loss. Mistakes plagued set two as well, which allowed the Lady Lions to jump to an early lead and the Lady Bulldogs never threatened in set two.
“We just never got on track after the collapse in set one,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “We just did not play well enough to win on the road.”
Sparta had a rough hitting night with 14 hitting errors to go along with only 19 kills. Jessica Robinson led the way with nine kills. Serving also had an off night, serving at an 87 percent pace which included five errors.
The loss drops Sparta’s overall record to 15-14. 
Sparta will be hosting a Class 2A regional which will start Thursday, October 28. Nashville will take on Red Bud at 6 p.m. prior to Sparta taking on Pinckneyville at 7 p.m.
Valmeyer over Steeleville 25-22, 26-24
Valmeyer remained unbeaten in Cahokia Conference Kaskaskia Division play with a 25-22, 26-24 win over Steeleville Thursday.
Brooke Rees led Steeleville with 10 kills, three blocks and five digs, while Alex Gale finished with one kill, six points and six digs. Brooke Cates added one kill, one block, three points and seven digs in the loss.