The De Smet Bulldog volleyball team hosted the Arlington Cardinals to close the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, October 29th. The Bulldogs won the match in five sets by scores of 25-16, 23-25, 12-25, 26-24, and 15-13.
De Smet started the match with a 4-1 run. Arlington cut the lead to 8-6, but the Bulldogs were able to extend the lead to 14-10. De Smet then went on a 5-3 run to make the score 19-13. They remained in the lead to a 25-16 win. The Bulldogs would take a 6-2 lead to start the second set. The Cardinals chipped away at the lead and ted the score 11-11. The score was tied again 13-13, and then De Smet went back in front 19-17. Arlington would respond with a 4-0 run too take a 21-19 lead. The Bulldogs tied the score 21-21. The score was tied again 23-23, but Arlington scored the final two points for a 25-23 win.
The Bulldogs had the lead again to start the third set. De Smet led 4-2 and 8-6. The Cardinals then went on a 5-0 run for an 11-8 lead. That run sparked some momentum for them. Arlington when on a 12-4 run for a 23-12 lead before winning 25-12. The Cardinals would start the fourth set with a 3-0 lead. De Smet tied the score 5-5 and then went in front 11-7. The Bulldogs grew their lead to 19-12, but Arlington made another run. The Cardinals got within two points, 20-18 and 22-20. They would eventually tie the score 23-23. After a 24-24 tie, De Smet scored the final two points to win 26-24.
The fifth set was close through the first half. De Smet only led by a point, 4-3 and 7-6. Arlington scored the next two points to go ahead 8-7. The Bulldogs scored three in a row to go back in front 10-8. That spurt was enough to keep De Smet ahead. The Bulldogs led 13-11 and then won the set, and the match, 15-13.