It has been said that even a journey of one million miles begins with a single step.

That may not be comforting to the Superior Lady Bobcats volleyball team, but they do not have that far to go.

In a brutal part of a schedule that has already been a tall challenge, the young but athletic Lady Cats appear to have taken those first steps in the rebuilding process, picking up their first two set wins of the year as they continue their quest for that elusive first victory.

The Cats opened their week with a home match Tuesday against Arlee, losing 3-1 but picking up their first set victory of the year, 25-20 in the second set. They then journeyed to Troy this past Thursday and won another set before falling 3-1 to the Lady Trojans.

Superior returned home Saturday night to face once-beaten league leader Eureka, which swept them 3-0.

But positive signs are positive signs.

After Arlee took a 1-0 match lead with a 25-11 win in the opening set, the Lady Cats fought back for the second set win. And they forced the volleyball set equivalent of overtime when they stretched the Scarletts to the limit before Arlee pulled out a 26-24 win in the pivotal third set.

The visitors then captured set number four, 25-17, to clinch the match at 3-1

Superior then hit the road for their conference match with Troy, where they once again fell 3-1 but showed more signs that good times are on the way.

Troy won the first two sets by identical 25-14 scores to build a 2-0 match advantage.

Looking to wrap it up in the third set, Troy found what most teams have...this is a team that does not give up. A crucial element of winning teams.

Superior fought off the disappointment of losing the first two sets and basttled to a 25-23 win in the third set, staving off a sweep for the second match in a row. However, Troy was able to regroup and clinch the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth and final set.

Then it was back home for a Herculean challenge in the form of once-beaten Eureka, which came in with a 12-1 season mark and an unblemished 7-0 conference record.

The Lady Lions have been wreaking havoc throughout the league all season and they showed no mercy for the Cats.

Eureka jumped to a 25-9 first set win, followed by a 25-14 second set victory to go up 2-0 in the match. They clinched the sweep with a 25-13 set three triumph. It was the Lions 11th sweep of the year.

Freshman Lyla Beaudoin had a breakout game for Superior recording team highs in assists (10) and digs (10). Kara Stanger led Eureka with a match best 18 kills and four aces.

Superior wraps up its regular season this week with a match versus Loyola this Thursday night in Missoula.