By ERIC VICCARO
bnewssports@gmail.com

The Gold-Burg High School volleyball team has been playing harder since the introduction of Cheryl Cromleigh as the head coach.
That was assuredly on display Tuesday as the Lady Bears pushed District 2A-10 and Montague County rival Saint Jo to five games.
However, in the end, the Lady Panthers had just a little more offense than the Lady Bears, winning by scores of 25-7, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 15-13.
Saint Jo improved to 8-14, 2-2 in 2A-10 while Gold-Burg dropped to 3-21, 0-4. The Lady Panthers played at Valley View on Friday while Gold-Burg played at Prairie Valley.
“It was simply awesome how they fought,” Cromleigh said of the Lady Bears. “They never quit. They have really improved.”
Saint Jo also has a first-year head coach in Dakota Crockett, and they are learning her system on the fly.
“I think we made too many errors (in the third and fourth sets),” Crockett said. “Gold-Burg came back and played very well against us.”
Crockett said the Lady Panthers passing wasn’t as strong in the sets they lost. She said the five-set match against Collinsville earlier this season provided Saint Jo with the experience it needed to win the match.
Read more, and see complete statistics, in the weekend Bowie News.

Saint Jo’s Charity Brawner sends a free ball over the net during a District 2A-10 match against Gold-Burg in Stoneburg on Sept. 22. The Lady Panthers needed five games to beat the Lady Bears. Click on the image itself for the complete photo. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)