Lady Cardinals cast three-game spell on Lady Magic

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area College volleyball team performed well in the clutch and featured a balanced attack at home on Wednesday night, turning a potentially lengthy tussle against Meramec into a relaxed three-game conference win.

The Lady Cardinals coasted through the first game, but stood two points away from being tied in a sluggish game two. MAC regained control of both the momentum and the match with an aggressive run of four straight points, and held on in game three for a 30-19, 32-30, 30-27 sweep.

Mineral Area (4-2) established a nice flow to its offense early on, and also used its serving to cause problems for the Meramec back row, leading to several weak attacks.

Tiara Boyer deflected a spike off of a double-block, and Cassidy Wisdom ripped a diagonal attack to the deep corner for kills, while Jennifer Gabrian and Jessica Murdick each served aces to build an early 10-3 advantage.

The game one margin reached double figures when Monica Jaroszewicz jump-served an ace after crushing a kill from the right side. Strong net play was also delivered in the middle as Lora Dickey converted a short-set into a quick kill. Boyer made the tally 27-14 with a solo stuff-block, and Gabrian scored with a nice redirection to help close out the game.

The Lady Magic regrouped as game two began and stunned the Lady Cardinals with a more powerful attack. Ashley Hahn blistered the last of three straight kills down the middle to put MAC in a 4-0 deficit. However, a couple of misfired spikes opened the door for a closer game.

The Lady Cardinals teased a comeback throughout game two, but waited until the last possible moment to complete it. A loud stuff-block by Jaroszewicz brought the home team to within two, but back-to-back kills from Sarah Herbert widened the Meramec lead to 17-12.

Wisdom responded for with two straight kills, and Chaumone Robinson-Streater turned a great dig by Chelsey Morris into a short put-away to trim the difference to 20-19, but Meramec again used its power to surge farther in front.

Erin Kraus ended a long rally with a kill following a Hahn stuff-block for a five-point cushion, and a crucial missed serve by MAC serve put the Lady Magic within two points of an even match at 28-25.

Dickey found the opening with a short, cross-court spike on the ensuing point, and good back row defense by the resilient Lady Cardinals led to a couple of missed attacks by Meramec which leveled the score.

The Lady Magic easily tipped a bad pass from the opposite side to the floor for a 30-29 edge, but Dickey stepped up again with two big kills from the middle to put MAC back on top. Mineral Area then capitalized on a free-ball on the ensuing point, as Boyer hammered a kill down the line to the delight of the home crowd.

The most entertaining rally of the match occurred early in game three, and gave the Lady Cardinals a needed point during a frustrating stretch of action. Excellent hustle kept a wild scramble alive, and Murdick was somehow able to clear the ball over the net from beyond the baseline. After Meramec failed to mount a strong attack, Wisdom buried a shot from the left side to bring MAC to within 9-7.

Mineral Area continued to trail until Jaroszewicz tied the score at 15-15, then forged ahead when Dickey knocked down another kill on an errant Meramec pass.

Gabrian won a joust at the net, then made a solo block on the next point to extend the MAC lead to 24-18. The Lady Magic resisted two match points with a Hahn stuff-block cutting the spread to two, but an untimely net serve closed out the match.

"We played some solid defense tonight, but our hitting struggled a little in games two and three," said MAC head coach Tim Copeland. "We'll have to cut down on our errors."

Wisdom, Jaroszewicz and Boyer each recorded eight kills in the match, while Dickey added seven to go with three blocks. Murdick made 24 digs and Wisdom completed a strong all-around performance with 21. Gabrian finished with 34 assists.

The Lady Cardinals will be busy this weekend as they compete in the two-day McKendree Tournament.