Although Sterling fell short to Galesburg on Thursday night, the Golden Warriors still gained valuable experience.

Playing without Nia Harris and Alasia Harris Rascon, who were absent from the game, Sterling fell 25-22, 25-21 in Western Big 6 Conference action.

Sterling (17-15, 4-9 Big 6) kept within striking distance, but the upswing Silver Streaks (12-14, 3-9) took control late during both sets of the sweep.

“Although we were missing our two outside hitters that play six rotations, I’d say that we played good as a team,” sophomore Grace Springman said. “Our effort plays showed a lot on the court.

“We were totally capable of winning without our two outsides, but it just came down to them swinging and us not getting up fast enough.”

Freshman Kylie Shank led Sterling with six kills, Kasey Weeks had five, Alivia Gibson (12 digs) had four and Megan Stutzke had three. Sydney Giffin had 10 assists, and Madison Birdsley had nine. Springman had five digs.

“We tend to crumble sometimes,” Springman said, “but if we can get back up in tense situations, then I’d say that we look pretty good going into the postseason.”

Galesburg was coming off a three-set loss to Geneseo and went 4-0 at the Dixon invite.

“I thought really for what we put out there, I thought we competed well,” Sterling coach Dale Dykeman said. “We serve received really well ... We just weren’t able to really slow down their attack enough to consistently run on our side.”

Sterling had just two blocks in the loss.

“We challenged some kids to do some things in some positions that they’re not normally used to playing,” Dykeman said. “At times they did it really well, and at times they didn’t execute it quite as well as we needed.”

Dykeman said the effort was still there against a Galesburg team that has been playing well.

Taylor Adams, Taylor Herchenroder and Ava Marty all had four kills for Galesburg.

“We’re playing really good ball right now,” Galesburg coach Nicole Kisler said. “They’ve improved from the beginning of the season until now. We’re smooth, we know each other; that’s the really important part. When we really focus, we play our best ball for sure.”

Springman said dealing with different lineups and different situations only helps Sterling moving forward, despite the loss.

“I’d say that it just strengthens us,” Springman said. “We had [a] freshman out here today, and we had [two] seniors on the court tonight.”

Sterling finishes Big 6 play against Alleman next week and will host a regional in Class 3A. Fourth-seeded Sterling will face sixth-seeded Freeport on Oct. 28 in the regional semifinal.

“I think we’re all excited,” junior Megan Stutzke said. “I know as a captain, I feel very confident in my team, and the energy in the gym has just been really good recently.”

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Sterling’s Mya Lira make a pass against Galesburg Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Alex T. Paschal)