CARTERVILLE- The Carterville Lions lost to the Murphysboro Red Devils in straight sets during a SIRR Ohio Division matchup; the first set finished at 13-25 and the second set ended at 23-25. 

Before the game, the 2023 seniors were honored in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Head coach Nathan Emrick took this opportunity to start his four seniors, Sydne Congiardo, Jaycie Johnson, Jada Outland, and Tonielli Estes.

Senior Jada Outland served the first point of the game. Jada had been out all season due to an injury to her back, but despite this, she still served and even gave her team an early lead. 

When asked how she felt getting back on the court one last time, she said, “It felt awesome being able to serve on senior night. Although I’m not released yet, I did get to do this for my team one last time, and it felt awesome to get those two serves in, and I’m really glad I’m going out with these girls.” 

The rest of the first set was very one-sided. The Lions seemed to be defeated and struggled to make anything work, causing the Devils to take set one with ease. 

The second set started with a bang from the Lions. Layla Yates went on a six-point serve streak that seemed to give the defeated Lions hope.

“My mindset going through those points was, like, I just have to get these over for my team to continue playing,” said Yates. 

Even after the streak was broken, it felt as if the Lions were back in the game and had all the momentum. They went on a point run, trying to create as much distance from the Devils as possible, but it wasn’t enough because the gritty Murphysboro team came back and shocked the Lions, taking set two and giving them the win.  

The volleyball team will play again in Centralia on Tuesday. For more sports content and updates, follow @cartervilleath on Instagram and Twitter.