NEXT
 Justine Blumenstock receiving a serve in the first round of the NVC tournament.
Monday, Oct. 24, the number three seed, St. Mary’s Cardinals, defeated the number six seed, Elgin Public/Pope John, in an exciting match on the Cardinals home court. The Cardinals were down 9-20 in the first set and were able to chip their way back into the game. A five-point scoring run by the Cardinals forced EPPJ to take their first timeout at 14-20. A block by EPPJ gave the Wolfpack the serve, but EPPJ missed their serve in the next three rotations, aiding in the Cardinals’ come-back. A kill by Justine Blumenstock tied the score at 23. A block and kill by Brooke Bauer closed out the first set with St. Mary’s winning 25-23. In the second set, St. Mary’s kept the momentum and got out to an early lead. The Cardinals were firing on all cylinders. EPPJ attempted a late-set run but were unable to keep up and the Lady Cards won the second set 25-17. The third set was a point-for-point match. The Cardinals got down 13-17, but after a timeout, the Cards went on a four-point run and took the lead. The rest of the match was filled with long volleys and many hustle plays. It went back-and-forth and was tied at 24-24. Krissy Krotter finished off the set with 2 kills, ending the game with the score of 26-24. St. Mary’s posted 44 kills. Krissy Krotter led the attack with 12 and Jessi Pongratz added 10. Kaylee Krotter and Bridget Schneider contributed 20 and 17 assists, respectively. Mackenzie Wecker led the defense with 20 digs. The win advances the Lady Cards to the second round of the NVC Conference Tournament where they will face the Ewing Tigers. The NVC finals will be held at the O'Neill High School Gym this Friday evening.
| |||||||||||||||||
