Varsity girls volleyball fell two games to one on Sept. 6 to rival Francis Howell at home in what senior captains Jenna Rekosh and Danielle Lorenscheit said was the hardest match of the season.

“When the other team has such tall players with that amount of talent, it’s hard to keep up with them,” said Lorenscheit.

Fast forward three weeks to Sept. 27. A rematch was brewing and coach Mark McAfee was attentively watching his team warm up, minutes before they took to the court.

“The focus for tonight is execution. We almost had them last time, if we can just execute, we’ll take the match,” said Coach McAfee.

Whether it was execution that fell through is up for debate, but the varsity girls dropped the first two games 25-18 to a taller and more experienced Howell team ranked second in the state. This ended the Lady Spartans seven-game win streak, their last loss coming in the previous loss to Howell at home.

“I think the turnaround was due to the emotions on the court tonight,” said Rekosh. “The girls on the court, including myself, let the emotions get us for the first time. When [Howell] had their runs, our team was just done — emotionally shut down and lifeless.”

Closing words from coach McAfee were that of frustration but respect. He was proud of the girls for not rolling over even though they became flustered from time to time.

“Effort is something no one can take away from you.” said Coach McAfee.

After the crushing loss last night, the team is 11-6 on season. Six games remain before the district tournament that takes place Oct. 22-24.