The Sturgis volleyball team dropped its first Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division match Wednesday in a four-setter at Gull Lake. The Trojans won the first game 25-26 before the Blue Devils rattled off 25-15, 27-25 and 25-7 victories.
Sturgis fell to 15-10-1 and 3-1 in the SMAC East. Gull Lake improved to 19-7 and 3-1 in the division.
Courtney Lovelace had three aces, Jamie Lioy finished with 18 digs, two blocks and an ace, Rachel Anderson totaled 15 digs and four blocks, Hannah Marchand produced 28 assists and Hollie Myers finished with 14 digs.
“We let a match slip away from us tonight,” Sturgis coach Von Metzger said. “We started out passing the ball well and making good decisions with our hitting, but couldn’t sustain it for all four sets. We have been having a lot of trouble getting and keeping everyone healthy and it caught up to us a little bit tonight. We will get in the gym tomorrow and see what we can do to make sure we are ready to go this weekend.”