Finally getting to play on their home court for the first time in the 2023 season, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals lost a tough match to the Howard Tigers on Tuesday, September 19th. The Tigers won the match in five sets by scores of 24-26, 15-26, 25-22, 25-21, and 18-16.
St Mary opened the match with a quick 6-1 run. They pushed that lead to 18-11. The Cardinals still led 21-16, but Howard went on a 5-0 run to tie the score 21-21. The set was tied again at 23-23 and 24-24. St Mary got the final two points for the 26-24 win. Howard started the second set with a 5-3 lead, but St Mary went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 10-5. That gave them momentum as they extended the lead to 20-11 and then won 25-16.
The Cardinals seemed to be ready to end the match in straight sets as they got out to a 6-2 lead. Howard went on a 5-0 run to go ahead 7-6. The teams traded points, and the score was tied 12-12. The Tigers went on a 4-0 run for a 16-12 lead and built a 22-16 advantage. St Mary rallied to go ahead 23-22, but Howard ended the third set on a 3-0 run to win 25-22. The two teams traded three point runs to start the fourth set. They were tied 6-6. With Howard leading 11-10, they went on an 8-1 run to lead 19-11. St Mary battled to within a point, 22-21, but the Tigers ended the set on a 4-0 run for a 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
Neither team was willing to give an inch through the first half of the fifth set. The teams traded points and the score was tied 7-7. St Mary was able to get a little separation and led 9-7 and then extended that lead to 13-9. The Cardinals had match point at 14-11, but Howard rallied to tie the score 14-14. The Cardinals had match point at 15-14 and 16-15, but both times the Tigers tied the score. Howard would score the final two points after a 16-16 tie to win 18-16.
Brianna Lindeman had 46 set assists, four kills, 13 digs, four ace serves, and a block. Brianna Griffin ended with 14 kills, 22 digs, four blocks, and two ace serves. Megan Geraets added 13 kills, nine digs, and six blocks. Livia Abel had 13 kills, four digs, and three block assists. Jaycee Tebay finished with six kills, 19 digs, and three ace serves. Reagan Griffin had 25 digs and two aces. Jenna Miller and Jodie Klein both tallied 22 digs and two ace serves each. Emy Herber had three kills, three digs, and a block.
The Cardinals also played a match in Ethan on Monday, September 18th. The Ruslters took the match in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-20, and 25-12.
