Sportswriter Grantland Rice once said it doesn’t whether you win or lose, just how you play the game. That wisdom probably doesn’t mean a lot when you lose. But, when the game is over and done, it does matter how you have played the game.

Rice would have been proud of the Pike County High School Lady Bulldog volleyball teams Tuesday afternoon.

The junior varsity played Ariton close in the first match but came up short 22-25. After falling behind in the second match, they never got any closer than the final score 20-25.

The Lady Bulldog varsity team played the Ariton Lady Purple Cats hard early when there was a chance they might win and they were playing just as hard when they knew they were not.

The scores 15-25, 10-25 and 8-25 aren’t indicative of how hard the Lady Bulldogs varsity team played, start to finish.

“They played hard and they played as a team,” said first-year coach, Shay Driggers. “We’ve just got to learn to put two and two together and we will. We’re getting better and we’ll keep getting better.”

Driggers has a young JV team and relatively young varsity team – four seniors, several juniors and underclassmen including an eighth-grader.

“Several players are new to the game of volleyball,” Driggers said. “They like the game and they play hard but we’ve got to learn how to win and that’s taking some time.”

The Lady Bulldogs won only one volleyball game last year and have yet to win this young season. They’ve played five games and Tuesday’s game was only the second home game of the season.

“We’ve got 20 games and people are learning to enjoy watching volleyball,” Driggers said. “It’s quick and fast moving with a lot of action. We’ve had good fan support and the players enjoy the game. We’ll get better because we want to get better.”

PCHS Principal Willie Wright had nothing but praise for the teams.

“We’ve got young groups but they do work hard and they are learning what it means to work together as a team,” he said. “Right now, it’s tough times but they are continuing to play hard and not give up and that’s a positive thing and says a lot about the players.”

Wright said volleyball is another opportunity for young women to participate in sports and he is encouraged by the number of girls who are choosing to play.

“We bought a new net for the court. The other one was about ’60’ years old,” Wright said, laughing. “We want teams to have a place to play that they can take pride in because we take pride in their efforts. There will be brighter times for these teams.”