The De Smet Bulldogs traveled to Estelline and won a five-set thriller from the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Thursday, October 3rd. They won by set scores of 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 25-21, and 15-13.
De Smet got behind 4-2 to start the first set, but went on a big roll late in the set. After a 10-10 tie, the Bulldogs went on an 11-3 run for a 21-13 lead and then scored the final four points for the 25-13 win. De Smet started the second set with a 3-1 run. They stayed in front to a 14-12 score. The Redhawks tied the score 16-16, and then it was tied again at 18-18. De Smet looked like they were going to take a two set lead after going in front 21-19, but Estelline/Hendricks rallied to tie the score 24-24 and then score the final two points for a 26-24 win.
The two teams battled back and forth to start the third set, with each team holding a lead. De Smet led 12-11, but the Redhawks took the lead 13-12 with two straight points. Estelline/Hendricks kept the lead at 20-18 and then won 25-22. After a 1-1 and 5-5 tie to start the fourth set, De Smet went on an 11-5 run to take a 16-10 lead. They pushed the lead to 21-12, but the Redhawks cut the lead to just three points, 24-21. The Bulldogs ended the really to win 25-21 and force a fifth set.
De Smet started the fifth set with a 3-0 run. They kept a three-point lead to 9-6. Then the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to take control at 13-6. The Redhawks, however, scored five in a row to pull within two, 13-11. Each team would score two points each, and De Smet would win the set and match 15-12.
