The Lady Bulldogs went 4-0 in the 36th annual Sparta Invitational Volleyball championship Saturday downing Steeleville 20-25, 25-13, 15-11 in the championship match.  
Steeleville won Pool B while host Sparta won Pool A to advance to the title match.  Trico defeated New Athens 25-19, 25-12 to finish third on the day.  Dupo downed Evansville COSL 25-17, 20-25, 15-10 to take fifth place.
“I’m very proud of the way we battled tough all day,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach.  “We certainly did not play as well as we have but we made the plays we needed and at the right time to pull together for each win.”
Sparta opened the day with a hard fought 28-16 first set win in match one before cruising to the 25-15 second set win to take game one over Trico.  Erica Gallois had a career match tossing down 20 kills against the Lady Pioneers while Rachel Peck added eight. Emma Koester added 24 assists in the win.
In match two of the day, the Lady Bulldogs eased away late in both sets for the 25-17, 25-10 win advancing out of pool play 2-0.  Gallois and Peck again were the big hitters with 15 and 10 kills respectively.  Julian Sroka added four kills and Koester added 18 assists.
In the semifinal match, Sparta defeated New Athens 25-11, 26-24.  Gallois and Peck accounted for 23 of the team’s 27 kills with 13 and 10 apiece.
In the championship match, Sparta came from behind after falling in set one 20-25 before rebounding taking the next two sets 25-13 and 15-11 to claim the championship.  
“That was a pretty nice way to come back after dropping that first set,” added Gerlach. “We came around defensively at the net and improved our passing and that in turn picked up or hitting.”
Sparta went 4-0 on the day to improve their overall record to 16-7.  
Steeleville knocked off Christ Our Savior 25-11, 25-9, New Athens 25-14, 25-8, and Trico 27-25, 25-12 before falling to Sparta in the championship.
“After our back-to-back losses against New Athens and Chester, I was a little worried about coming into this tournament,” said Steeleville coach Amy Brown.  “I thought the girls played really well.  After winning the first game against Sparta, I thought it was going to be an upset.  It just goes to show how tough of a team Sparta really is.  We just couldn’t stop their two big hitters, especially Rachel Peck, she is an unbelievable all-around player.  I'm very proud of my girls, beating Sparta in a set was something I didn't expect.  Each one of my players contributed in that match and that's what good teams have to do.”
Jessica Troue finished the tournament with 36 kills, while Kayla Jeffers added 21 points and 33 digs, Jessie Husband had 22 points and 65 assists, Alex Gale finished with 27 points and 17 digs, and Brooke Rees added 28 points with 11 aces, 18 kills and 15 digs.
Steeleville improved their overall record to 14-9.