(Park Hills, MO) The Mineral Area Lady Cardinals pick up a straight set win over East Central despite a rocky second set, 25-13, 25-23, 25-15.
The opening set began with back-and-forth scoring for the first eight points until the Lady Cardinals rallied for six straight and led 9-4. MAC never trailed in the first set after the early run and had two different five point spurts, one of which that ended the opening set.
Set two was a different story. It began with ties at nearly every point up until 9-9 before East Central rattled off four straight. A second Falcons 4-0 run drew a Lady Cardinal timeout with the score favoring the road team 18-12, the largest lead of the three set affair for East Central.
MAC rebounded with a 9-3 rally that resulted in a 21-21 tie and Falcon timeout. A second Falcon timeout came shortly after the Lady Cards scored three-of-four and led 24-22. MAC closed out the second set two points later.
The third set was all Mineral Area. A 6-0 run handed MAC a 6-2 lead to start, and they’d gain separation with a 12-1 rally to lead 21-9 en route to the victory.
MAC has won 12 straight sets and four straight games.
Gabrielle Damborowiski led MAC attackers with 11 kills and an ace, while Lara Gilardi had 10 kills.
The Lady Cardinals improved to 7-3 and face Southwester, IL this weekend in St. Louis and return home September 17 against Jefferson College.