Monday, September 29th, was the first of three battles between the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals and Dell Rapids Quarriers this season. This first match-up was on the volleyball court at Dell Rapids St Mary High School. The schools came together to provide a fun atmosphere for the teams.
The first set started back-and-forth with neither team getting a lead bigger than two points. The Quarriers made a run of four straight with the score tied 9-9 to take a 13-9 lead. The Cardinals were able to tie the set at 16-16 and then took a short 19-18 lead. Dell Rapids then scored the next seven points for the 25-19 win.
The Cardinals and Quarriers battled back-and-forth again to start the second set. The two teams were tied 7-7, but this time the Cardinals made the first run outscoring the Quarriers 6-1 for a 13-8 lead. Dell Rapids chipped away at the lead and tied the set at 16-16. They then took the lead 19-16. Dell Rapids continued to lead by three at 21-18, but this time the Cardinals went on the late set run scoring the final seven points for a 25-21 victory to even the match.
After falling behind 3-1 early, St Mary continued to thrive on the momentum from the second set and went on a 7-0 run to lead 8-3. The Quarriers stopped the run and scored five straight of their own to tie the set at 8-8. St Mary then went ahead at 16-11 and continued roll winning the third set 25-13.
The fourth set was close early again as the two teams were tied 5-5. The Quarriers looked to take momentum scoring eight points in a row for a 13-5 lead. Dell Rapids still held a seven-point lead at 18-11, but the Cardinals started to make a run. They cut the lead to 18-14. The Quarriers responded with a mini 3-1 run to push the lead back to 21-15. St Mary got hot scoring the next six points to tie the set at 21-21, and then finished the set 4-1 to win the set at 25-22 to win the match.
Ella Heinitz led the Cardinals with 18 kills. She also finished with 14 digs and 13 set assists. Courtney Brown had 14 kills and seven digs. Maya Heinitz had a team-high 15 digs and four ace serves. Ella Griffin had a team-high 15 set assists along with six digs.
Emma Van Regenmorter led the Quarriers with 10 kills in the match. Kylee Fiddelke had nine kills, and Kenzie Garry had six kills. Sophi Randall had a match-high 27 set assists. Van Regenmorter had a match-high nine blocks. Randall also had six blocks and eight ace serves. Four players finished in double-figure digs for Dell Rapids. Sam Price had 21 digs, Garry had 16, Randall added 12, and Fiddelke finished with 11 digs.
St Mary (6-2) will travel to Baltic on Tuesday, September 29th and then to Lake Preston on Thursday, October 1st.
Dell Rapids (2-11) will host McCook Central/Montrose on Tuesday, September 29th and then travel to Lennox on Thursday, October 1st.