Playing before a large crowd gathered as part of the Volley for the Cure awareness night Thursday, Sparta knocked off Randolph County rival Chester 25-15, 25-19.
Sparta came out and fell behind early in set one.  Down 7-0 the Lady Bulldogs scored seven straight points to storm back for a 7-7 tie.  
The two teams played even to 8-8 before a five-point Bulldog run pushed the lead to 13-8.  Sparta pulled away late in set one for the 25-15 win.  
In set two Chester held a 15-13 lead before a Gallois kill and a Chester hitting error tied the score for the last time at 17.  Sparta took the late lead at 18-17 and pulled away to the 25-19 win.
“With all of the emotion of the evening,  I am very happy the girls came together and took care of business,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach  about the sluggish start.  “Learning how to handle emotions is a big part of the game and I thought we did a nice job tonight.”
Erica Gallois had 17 kills while Rachel Peck added 11 kills.  Emma Koester had a big assist night with 26 assists.  Peck added 12 service points, seven coming early in set one.
With the win Sparta improves to 18-7 overall while their conference record moves to 5-1.  
Tiffani Marshal led the Chester attack with five kills and three blocks, while Devon Hecht added two kills and four blocks. Megan Atchison led the team with 10 service points and three assists, while Amy Araiza had a team high seven digs in the loss.
With the loss, Chester falls to 9-18 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
The Lady Bulldogs have won 16 out of the last 17. The next home match for Sparta is against league leading Nashville  Thursday, October 15.