The Bushnell-Prairie City High School volleyball team took to the home floor for the first time this season Wednesday evening, aiming for their first win of the season.
But visiting Galva had their own plans and the Wildcats made good on those plans, defeating B-PC 25-22, 25-11.
Galva improved to 3-4 on the season, while the Spartans dropped to 0-5.
“It was our first home game. I thought we had it,” said B-PC coach Chloe Hickle of the opening set. “Coming into the second set, I was thinking ‘we can do this.’” B-PC led 14-13 in the opening set before Galva chalked up the next four points in taking a lasting lead.
A Spartan service error tied the score before Galva used a block, a service ace and a tip kill in grabbing a 17-14 advantage.
The Wildcats led grew to 23-18, before the Spartans tallied four straight to get as close as 23-22.
But a B-PC service error and a tip kill by Galva closed out the set.
The Wildcats never trailed in set two, prowling out to a 3-0 lead that eventually became 14-4.
“We have this issue at the beginning of a set where we let (the opponent) get like a 10-point lead,” said Hickle. “We can’t keep up with (allowing) that.”
“Sometimes you can come back,” she added. “But when the energy’s down, they weren’t talking and they weren’t focusing. It was very frustrating.”
“There’s got to be something done about that,” said Hickle. “Something’s got to give.”
Coaching a program that has seen its shares of struggles in recent years, Hickle knows there is plenty of work to be done.
“One (bad) attitude can bring the entire team down on the court,” she said. “That is something we need to work on.”
“We did good things,” Hickle added. “The first set showed that. It’s all about the energy and the mental status.”
Justice Klinedinst had three kills and eight digs for B-PC.
Kyra Shamblin recorded seven digs, while Brynlee Beekman finished with seven set assists and one service ace.
The JV match saw Galva win the opening set 25-9 before B-PC battled in set two before falling 29-27.
The Spartans returned to action Thursday evening, heading to Cuba to face North Fulton.
B-PC will head to Farmington on Monday.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the match at Peoria Heights has been rescheduled for Oct. 8.
