The Sparta Lady Bulldogs took third place in the River-to-River Conference pre-season tournament over the weekend.  
Sparta opened pool play with an upset win over Massac County in two exciting sets 27-25, 26-24.  In the second match, Sparta downed Pinckneyville 25-9, 26-24 and advanced out of pool play in the gold division by downing West Frankfort 25-14, 25-10.  
In the trophy rounds, the Lady Bulldogs ran into the hottest teams in the tournament losing to Anna-Jonesboro 24-26, 25-16, 15-6 and eventual champion Benton 25-15, 25-7.
“We really did play pretty well until we ran out of gas in the fifth match of the day against Benton,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “They were the cream of the crop and really have a nice group this year. Our hitting and passing was so much better than what we showed at Wesclin.”
Gabby Gallois, an all-tournament team selection, led the Lady Bulldog hitting attack with 30 kills on the day while Jannice Edmonson added 24 kills. Victoria Ward chipped in with 25 assists on the day.
“It was a very long day with us starting play at 9 a.m. and we didn’t get home until after 8 p.m. but the girls really did a nice job playing hard all day.” Gerlach continued. “We get right back at it next week playing in the Marissa tournament for the first time this year.”
Sparta evens the overall record at 3-3.