HR0073 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0073 LRB103 30871 MST 57387 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to commemorate the historic 1974-1975 Red Bud Musketeers women's volleyball team; and

WHEREAS, After the passage of Title IX in 1972, the Musketeers had only played one season when the girls from the school of 400 began their historic 37 and 1 season; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeer's athletic conference, the Cahokia Conference, voted to forbid any women's volleyball team in the conference from playing in the 1975 state tournament; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeers, led by their intrepid 27-year-old coach, Sandy Griffin, and with the support of the local school board and school administration, defied the conference and entered the state tournament; and

WHEREAS, At the close of an undefeated 17 and 0 regular season, the Musketeers destroyed the regional championship field, completing the title match in a dizzying 12 minutes; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeers relied heavily on the "Red Bud Six", Diann Schrader, Deb Stamm, Paula Snyder, Cindy Guebert, Meg Gross, and Kim R. Liefer, during their ensuing state tournament run; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeers went undefeated in the sectional championships and handily beat Granite City South in the super-sectionals; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeers beat larger programs at schools such as Champaign Central and Lincoln, starting their state tournament bid at 24 and 0; and

WHEREAS, Although the team was finally eliminated by New Trier East, a Chicago school boasting a roster of Olympic hopefuls and a student body over 10 times larger than Red Bud, the impressive run against schools of all sizes from across the State sure "showed Charlie", a local sports reporter who at the beginning of the season mentioned those schools with Olympic hopefuls, writing "stop dreaming Red Bud"; and

WHEREAS, The Musketeers never stopped dreaming and, more importantly, never stopped pursuing excellence on the court and, in doing so, cemented their claim to the title of best Southern Illinois team their sport has seen; and

WHEREAS, On the 25th of February, 2023, Red Bud will honor the 1974-1975 Musketeers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commemorate the 1974-1975 Red Bud Musketeers women's volleyball team, acknowledging their tenacity off the court to demand the right to compete at the highest level as well as their grit and determination to earn that right, and thank them for serving as an example of these admirable traits for nearly 50 years of women competitors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Red Bud High School, Coach Sandy Griffin, Diann Schrader, Deb Stamm, Paula Snyder, Cindy Guebert, Meg Gross, and Kim R. Liefer as an expression of our respect and esteem for breaking ground in sports for all young women in Southern Illinois.