The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals played their final two regular season home matches on Monday, October 26th and Tuesday, October 27th. The Cardinals earned a split in those two matches.
Colman-Egan came to Dell Rapids St Mary High School on Monday and went home with a four set win. The Hawks took the first set with ease by a score of 25-11. The Cardinals regrouped and led for most of the second set. Colman-Egan finally tied the set late, but St Mary took the win 28-26 to even the match. Colman-Egan, again, was able to get to a sizeable lead in the third set and won 25-13. The two teams battled tough in the fourth set, but the Hawks ultimately took the fourth set 25-20 to win the match.
Courtney Brown helped lead the Cardinals with 10 kills and 18 digs. Ella Heinitz had 21 digs, 11 set assists, and seven kills. Maya Heinitz finished with 14 digs, and Macie Brown had 11 digs and two ace serves. Jaycee Tebay finished with five kills, five digs, and two blocks. Ella Griffin added 11 set assists, four digs, and three kills.
Twenty-four hours later, the Cardinals hosted the Canistota Hawks on Tuesday. St Mary was able to put Monday behind them and took the match over Canistota in straight sets.
The first two sets were played very close. In the opening set, the two teams were tied multiple times. The Cardinals broke a 10-10 tie and scored four points in a row for a 14-10 lead. The lead grew to 17-12. The Hawks pulled within a couple of points a couple of times, but the Cardinals never lost the lead and won the first set 25-19. The second set played out much like the first. The Cardinals got out to a 13-7. That lead grew to eight points at 18-10, and the Cardinals held on for a 25-21 win. St Mary then completely cruised through the third set winning 25-5 to take the match.
C. Brown finished with 10 kills, 13 digs, and four ace serves. E. Heinitz had 16 digs, 14 set assists, seven kills, and four ace serves. M. Heinitz finished with eight digs and five kills. Griffin added 10 set assists and seven kills. M. Brown and Whitney Warwick both had six digs each.
The Cardinals (9-7) will end the regular season in Garretson on Friday, October 30th.