Just three days after playing the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks in the conference tournament, the St Mary Cardinals faced them again in a regular season match on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Cardinals avenged a loss in the tournament with a five-set thriller. St Mary won by scores of 18-25, 25-22, 28-26, 23-25, and 15-12.
The Cardinals started the set with a 3-0 lead and continued to lead 6-3. The Elks went on a 4-1 run and tied the score 7-7. Elkton-Lake Benton continued their run by scoring the next three points for a 10-7 lead. They rode that momentum to a 20-11 advantage. St Mary cut the lead to 21-16, but the Elks finished the set with a 25-18 win. St Mary started quick again in the second set by taking a 6-2 lead. The Cardinals still held a 9-7 lead, but the Elks went on a 7-1 run to grab a 14-10 lead. Elkton-Lake Benton would still lead 17-13, but St Mary came storming back. The Cardinals got within a point 18-17. Trailing 22-20 the Cardinals scored the final five points for a 25-22 win.
The Elks took the first sizable lead in the third set at 8-3. St Mary trailed 12-9, but then went on a big run. The Cardinals scored seven straight points for a 16-12 lead. They remained in the lead to 23-21. Elkton-Lake Benton would tie the score 24-24. The teams traded points to ties of 25-25 and 26-26. The Cardinals would get the final two points for a 28-26 win. St Mary kept the momentum going and scored the first five points of the fourth set for an early 5-0 lead. The Elks responded with an 8-3 run to tie the set 8-8. Elkton-Lake Benton would then go ahead 12-9 and push their lead to six, 23-17. St Mary pulled within a point, 24-23, but a service error by the Cardinals gave Elkton-Lake Benton a 25-23 win.
The Cardinals would not let that error ruin the night. They stormed out to a 5-1 lead to start the fifth set. St Mary built a seven-point lead at 10-3. The Elks had one more rally in them. They chipped away until they were within two points, 13-11. The Cardinals would stop the rally and take the match with a 15-12 win.
