In the last regular season match of the year, we got to see the Lady Cards rally past a strong Colman-Egan team. The 17-9 St Mary’s Cardinals entered play against the 20-5 Colman-Egan Hawks in what would be their second meeting of the year. Colman-Egan took the first meeting, two sets to one.
First Set; Colman-Egan up Early
The first set started off with Harper Werdel serving for St Mary’s. After snagging the first point of the set, the Lady Cards went on a run. Natalie Gilbert, Stephenie Geraets, and then Paige Geraets and Emy Herber notched kills making it 9-4. A Werdel kill made it 10-6, however the Hawks would take over from that point. The match would end up tied at 11 before Colman-Egan would jolt up to 16-11. Herber and Maddyn Lebrun would score on kills and would get the deficit down to just two at 19-17. From then on, Colman-Egan would pull out six straight points, closing the first set 25-17.
Second Set; Cardinals Hit Back
Colman-Egan looked to fully capture momentum of the match in the second. However, the Cardinals kept the Hawks close, scoring kills for ties at one, two, three, and four. The Hawks jumped up 6-4 before a P. Geraets kill and an S. Geraets ace, boosting the Cardinals to a 5-0 run making it 9-6. Colman-Egan would go on their own run, however, snagging the lead en route to a 13-10 lead. After a Colman-Egan error, Lebrun knocked three straight kills, giving the Cardinals the 14-13 lead. Another back-and-forth led to a St Mary’s 20-19 lead. Colman-Egan would score once more in the set as the Lady Cards would jump out to take the set 25-20.
Third Set; Hawks Regain Momentum
Werdel started at the line in the third. After two straight aces for the Cardinal sophomore, Colman-Egan took over. The 2-0 lead quickly would turn to a 7-2 deficit for the Cardinals. St Mary’s would crawl their way back on kills from P. Geraets, Lebrun, Herber, and Werdel making it 13-11, Colman-Egan leading. A Herber kill brought it to 15-13, however, Colman-Egan fully captured momentum, suddenly being up 22-14. The Lady Cards would get three points back on kills from Herber and P. Geraets, but Colman-Egan would close the set 25-17.
Fourth Set; Cardinals Even it Out
Herber notched two kills and P. Geraets added a kill to get the set going early, 6-4 with the Cardinals in the lead. The Hawks would jump out to an 8-6 lead afterwards. P. Geraets added a kill to halt the Hawk momentum, and she would add another kill to make it 9-9. Herber was responsible for the next two Cardinal points, with two kills making it 12-11. Werdel would add a kill on the way to 16-12. The Hawks crawled back, but again, P. Geraets put a stop on their momentum making it 17-15. A Werdel kill and ace with a kill from Lebrun made it 20-17. Layla Hanson put down two aces on the way to the 23-17 lead. Lebrun would close off the set on a kill with a score of 25-21.
Fifth Set; Cardinals Stun the Colman Crowd
The final set started amazingly for the Cardinals. A Colman-Egan error sent Gilbert to the line, where she would send over two straight aces. Herber and Lebrun would tally kills making it 5-0 before a Hawk timeout. After the timeout, S. Geraets put down a kill and Herber added another, making it 7-0 in the set to 15. The Hawks weren’t done, coming back to make it a 7-6 set before Werdel, Lebrun, and Herber sent down kills making it 10-7. Colman-Egan tied it at 10 before both a S. Geraets block and a P. Geraets kill made it 12-10. Werdel would add a kill on the way to closing the set 15-12.
Stats
After watching the Lady Cards rally to a five set win, we can appreciate some excellent performances. Herber would lead in kills with 15, in addition to Lebrun and Werdel finishing with seven each. P. Geraets would tally five, while S. Geraets and Gilbert each had three. Gilbert finished with 35 assists, while S. Geraets had two and Herber added one. From the service line, Gilbert totaled three aces with Werdel and Hanson adding two each, and S. Geraets and Herber adding one a piece. Hanson led with 29 digs with Werdel totaling 24 and Gilbert adding 23. Lebrun finished with 19, while S. Geraets had 14. Herber added 10 digs to P. Geraets two digs. Freshman Madalyn Lavoy added a dig.
We’ll see what the Lady Cards rally shows us as far as post season play. The Cardinals will play again Nov. 4th at 7:15 in Chester against the Ethan Rustlers. That game will be live on https://www.youtube.com/@BigSiouxMedia/.
