Lady Bulldogs drop exciting three set match to Murphysboro 21-25, 25-17, 25-23 in the home opener for Sparta.
Trailing 23-17 in the third set, Jamie Woodworth serving game and several key hits by the offense brought the Bulldogs back on the verge of a major upset, only to have a misplayed free ball and serve reception end the game with the Red Devils escaping with the nonconference win Tuesday.
“I told the girls how much I appreciated the effort,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “Despite the loss we were in a position for the win, we just came up short and it was not because of lack of effort.  We just have to pay attention to details at critical times and the worm will turn on these close ones.”
Sparta was led in the hitting with a big night by Rachel Peck, as she had a career high 18 kills while Erica Gallois added 11 kills.  Julian Sroka had a big night as well with five blocks while Emma Koester added 31 assists.
“We really had a pretty efficient game plan and really did a nice job of everyone stepping up and contributing,” added Gerlach. “When the rotations were in our favor we did a nice job of playing pretty clean without many unforced errors and really that is what gave us our opportunity.  Murphysboro is a very talented team with a lot of weapons.”
Sparta’s overall record drops to 2-6 with the loss.