Lady Bulldogs improve to 7-2 overall, 4-1 in conference play

By Hunter Brooks

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs swept the Mayflower Lady Eagles, 3-0, Wednesday in Mayflower.

St. Joseph coach Luke Davis spoke on the importance of the road victory.

“It was a big win for us,” Davis said. “Mayflower’s one of the best teams in our conference. We’re all trying to get that No. 1 seed for the district tournament and win conference. To come down here at their place and win, especially in three games, is huge. I’m very proud of the girls.”

The Lady Bulldogs (7-2, 4-1 in the 3A-Central) were led by senior libero Sydney Spradlin in the 25-13, 25-15, 25-14 victory.

Spradlin accounted for 20 digs and served for 19 points.

“This is Sydney’s second year as libero,” Davis said. “She can be a very good passer, and I’ve just had to stress that fact to her. She’s starting to come into her own, and her leadership on defense has improved. I want her to mainly focus on passing, but she’s also done a great job of coming in and getting us some points off her serves so that’s a bonus.”

The Lady Bulldogs started the first game behind 6-3 before rallying to take a 16-12 lead. Spradlin served a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 23-12, putting Game 1 out of reach.

Spradlin also led an 8-0 run in Game 2 that saw St. Joseph go from 7-3 to leading, 11-7. The Lady Bulldogs would extend their lead to 18-10 before winning the game.

Junior utility player Holly Rega started the third game with two kills, leading St. Joseph to a quick 7-0 lead. The Lady Eagles would pull to within 11-7 before the Lady Bulldogs closed the match with a 14-7 run.

Senior setter Rachel Briggler recorded 11 assists in the match, with five in the second game.

“Rachel’s my main setter,” Davis said. “Rachel does a great job of not just setting any of the balls in the middle but also hustling to keep any ball off the floor.”

Senior utility player Linzy Hoelzeman added 11 digs and two kills while senior utility player Madison Seiter contributed eight digs and three kills.

St. Joseph plays host to Rosebud tonight before heading to Greenbrier for the Panther Power Jam on Saturday.