Cardinal rights the ship down the stretch vs. MSAE

After Maharishi School went the distance for a tight game one victory, Cardinal wrenched momentum back to its side in games two and three before cruising in game five to clinch the match Thursday at MSAE.

The Comets? 24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 25-14 victory is win No. 8 for Cardinal on a season that is already nearing its end.

Trailing by as many as four late in game one, MSAE fought back for a 24-24 tie to set up an Angela Sickler service ace and Sophia Blitz kill to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead in the match. From the 23-19 deficit, MSAE scored seven of the final eight points to take the game, but from that point forward it was Cardinal that was able to finish out games.

After the Pioneers once again made a late four-point Cardinal lead disappear in game two to knot the score at 23, the Comets pushed through for the final two points following a time out to take the game and even the match.

?We could see the improvement as the match went on, which is what we?re looking for and why we ended up winning the match,? said Cardinal head coach Amanda Totten. ?By the end, we were playing and winning games like I thought we should have been from the beginning.?

Once again in game three, a late tie at 20 led to the Comets digging down and finishing off the Pioneers, who had a loud crowd on their side. Morgan Benson?s kill ? one of her team-high ten ? ended game two and set Cardinal up to cruise through game four. From a 10-10 tie in the final set, the Comets stepped on the gas pedal and never looked back. Cardinal scored 15 of the final 19 points, including a Sarah Greiner serving run to put the game on ice. Greiner hit 13-15 serves on the night and also led the Comets with 25 assists. Chelsea Greiner racked up 25 digs, Andrea Kayser tallied eight kills and Liz Nichols connected on all 18 serves.

The win for Cardinal is now its second straight in SEISC south division play following Tuesday?s sweep of Harmony. The Comets have just one regular season match left on the schedule against Central Lee at home next Tuesday before beginning regional play.

?There was a tough stretch for us a few weeks ago but hopefully the girls are starting to turn it around and can get on a high heading into regionals,? Totten said.

Shana Silverma hit all 11 serves and ended up with six blocks for MSAE in the loss. Angela Sickler had 12 and Jhana Valentine had 11 assists, and Sophia Blitz led the way with 11 kills. Holly Armstrong chipped in two more service aces and 10 kills for the Pioneers who fall to 3-19 on the season.

Next up for MSAE will be another conference battle on the road against Danville on Tuesday.