Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley, Dells City Journal
The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team remained unbeaten on the year after an exciting match win over the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders at home on Tuesday, September 1st. The Cardinals won by set scores of 25-23, 25-13, 20-25, and 25-14.
The first set saw both teams go on scoring spurts. The Cardinals trailed by four points early before going on a four-point run to take an 8-7 lead. The Raiders responded by scoring the next eight points for a 15-8 advantage. St Mary came storming back and tied the set at 16-16. Oldham-Ramona/Rutland then went on a four-point run of their own to regain the lead at 20-16. The Cardinals tied the set at 20-20. The the two teams were then tied at 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23 before St Mary won the first set 25-23.
The late momentum seemed to stay with the Cardinals in the second set. They jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and never trailed as they easily took the second set 25-13. St Mary appeared to be headed towards a straight set victory as they led by six points early in the third set at 8-2. The Raiders found a spark and tied the set at 13-13. They continued their run and took a 21-16 lead. St Mary scored the next four points to pull within one at 21-20, but Oldham-Ramona/Rutland closed out the third set on a four-point run to win 25-20.
The Cardinals would not let the Raiders take advantage of any momentum from the third set. St Mary once again got out to an 8-2 lead, but this time, they were able to keep the pressure on Oldham-Ramona/Rutland. They pushed the lead to 18-9 and cruised from there to win 25-14 and take the match.
Courtney Brown finished the night with 13 kills and two blocks. Ella Heinitz had nine kills, 16 set assists, eight digs, two blocks, and two ace serves. Ella Griffin had six set assists, five blocks, four kills, and three ace serves. Maya Heinitz added seven digs. Macie Brown had six digs and an ace. Jaycee Tebay finished with nine kills on the night.
St Mary (3-0) will host Mitchell Christian on Thursday, September 3rd. There will only be one match, a varsity match, which will start at 6:00 p.m. The seniors will also be recognized.