Prep Volleyball: Searching for stability

The Harrisburg High School volleyball team closed out the week with back-to-back losses to conference foes.

The Bulldogs fell to Benton 25-11 and 25-15 and then lost to Murphysboro 25-10 and 25-19 Wednesday night.

The loss to the Red Devils showed some positives from head coach Heather Cox, who complimented her club on sticking in a match and gaining some confidence.

"Murphysboro got some really good hits to start off the first set, which caused our girls to be a little tentative," Cox said. "They are also big at the net and we struggled with being aggressive against them that first set."

Freshmen middles Bryleigh Buchanan and Matty Hawkins both had multiple touches in the net and a couple of big kills that helped Harrisburg get going.

"We got some great passing from seniors Audrey Morecraft and Haley Price, which made a huge difference in game two," Cox added. "Four missed serves in Game 2 kept us from ever getting a lead on them. I was proud of our second match and definitely think the girls gained more confidence from sticking in there Game 2."

The Harrisburg Junior Varsity volleyball team also lost in straight sets to Murphysboro, falling 25-22 and 25-10.