The Turpin Spartans girls volleyball team faces its toughest test of the young season Tuesday, Aug. 25, traveling to Loveland to take on the No. 16-ranked Tigers in an Eastern Cincinnati Conference matchup at 6:30 p.m.

Loveland (1 Tiger Trail, Loveland) enters the season as the preseason ECC favorite and is ranked No. 16 in Ohio's preseason Top 20, according to cleveland.com. The Tigers went 23-4 last season and reached the Division I state semifinals. Gabbi Ciotti and sisters Kylie and Ella George lead the returning roster.

The match is Turpin's first conference contest of 2026.

The Spartans enter at 0-2 after dropping both season-opening matches in three sets. Turpin fell 3-0 at Seton on Aug. 20 and lost 3-0 to William Henry Harrison at home on Aug. 22.

This is the Journal's first look at Turpin volleyball this fall. The Spartans and rival Anderson have traded ECC battles in recent years; Anderson defeated Turpin in four sets on Aug. 29, 2024.

Tuesday's trip to Loveland puts the Spartans against a program that went to the state semifinals a year ago and returns its core. It's the first real conference measuring point for a Turpin squad still searching for its first win.

Turpin returns home Thursday, Aug. 27, to host Walnut Hills at 6:30 p.m. at Turpin High School (2650 Bartels Road, Cincinnati).