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Comets catch fire early, flame out late
Cardinal volleyball team loses last 3 in SCC loss to Chariton
ELDON — The Cardinal volleyball team was one point away from a two-set lead on Tuesday night in the Comets’ hunt for their first South Central Conference win, but things soon went terribly wrong.
Down 24-23 in the second set, Chariton rallied past Cardinal for three-straight points to steal the game. The Chargers would go on to knock off the Comets 20-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-18.
“Fundamentally we’re there,” said head coach Candice Guiter. “We’re as good as anybody else. We’ve just got to believe in ourselves.”
The Comets came out of the locker rooms ready to go, especially on the service line. Cardinal sent down four aces in the opening set and led by five points on multiple occasions before ending it at 25-20.
Emily Ward was fantastic on the serve in the first set. She anchored an early run that left Cardinal up 8-3, and finished the set with three aces, a stat that matched her season total coming in.
The Comets seemed to be in control in the second set. Cardinal jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, and then stretched that advantage to 11-6 on an Emarie Finch ace, and then 16-11 when Cynthia Albert sent down an ace of her own.
Chariton, though, began to claw back. The Chargers rallied to tie the game at 21-21, scoring three-straight points to do so. The Chargers had a 23-22 lead before a pair of Cardinal points made it 24-23 in favor of the Comets. Chariton rallied for the next three, however, to win the set 26-24 and not things up 1-1.
Things just weren’t the same after that. Chariton led throughout the next two sets, and the Comets were never able to regain momentum.
Despite the loss, Brenna Guiter had a monster game, tallying 16 kills. Albert and Madison Diveley each finished with three.
Megan Ward and Emily Ward finished with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Brinlee Ostrander ended the game with 20 digs, and Finch racked up 16 digs.
The Comets are now 1-6 overall and 0-2 in what is a tough South Central Conference. Coach Guiter talked after the game about competing in the new league.
“They are intense,” Guiter said. “It’s definitely not a step down from what we’re used to. We’re used to these high intensity teams, but they’re fun competition and they’re good schools to be at.”
Cardinal will host its home volleyball tournament this Saturday.
Cardinal’s Madison Diveley (left) and Brenna Gruiter (right) go up to block the ball on Tuesday night against Chariton. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Cardinal’s Emarie Finch digs a ball during the Comets’ home loss to Chariton on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Cardinal’s Emily Ward serves the ball during the Comets’ South Central Conference loss to Chariton on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Cardinal’s Cynthia Albert camps under the ball before sending it over during the Comets’ four-set home loss to Chariton on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
