When the volleyball team defeated Louisburg three sets to two Tuesday night at home, not only did they defeat the Wildcats for the first time in nearly a decade, but they picked up an enormous win on senior night to conclude their home schedule on a high note.
Despite the Cardinals (16-9) giving up late points down the stretch, Eudora finished the job in the fifth set, winning 16-14, sending seniors Josie Pickett, Sawyer Schreiner and Audrey Shain out the right way in front of a booming crowd and student section.
Head coach Mallorie Cleveland knew her team had the courage to power through against a Frontier League rival, and was proud of how her seniors stepped up down the stretch, helping secure the victory.
“A win is a win,” Cleveland said. “At the end of the match, we had the kids that have stepped up for us consistently throughout the season step up. It is a comforting feeling knowing that we can rely on those kids down the stretch.”
Following the senior night introductions, the Cardinals started out strong and took an early lead, but the Wildcats cut the lead to 15-14 midway through the opening set.
However, led by a late scoring run, Eudora won the first set 25-18, seizing the early momentum away from the visitors in the first of what would be five sets inside the gymnasium of Eudora High School.
Throughout the match, the senior right side hitter in Pickett understood how hard Louisburg would play, and had a feeling that it could come down to the wire in her last home game as a Cardinal.
“Going into it, we haven’t played with Louisburg all season,” Pickett said. “We were excited to see how it was gonna be and how we’re gonna play. In the end, we all came together, and it was a really good game.”
Heading into the second set, Eudora started strong once again and led for the majority for the first half of that set, but the Wildcats responded with a late run of their own, and eventually went into win-by-two play with the score tied at 24-24.
Louisburg ended up winning the set 27-25 after several late kills put them over the top, evening up the sets at 1-1 going into the third set.
The Cardinals regained momentum in the middle set, and despite a back and forth beginning, the home team went up 17-10, and pulled away late by winning 25-16, going up two sets to one entering the fourth set.
Throughout the third set, Eudora’s offense clicked at the right time, as Schreiner led from the middle by blocking kill attempts, and setting up the offensive attack from her presence inside.
Even though the senior middle front in Schreiner did not exactly plan for this senior night to be this competitive, she stepped up in several key spots in the later sets, in what will be a match she will remember for quite some time.
“I am very excited that we beat Louisburg on our senior night,” Schreiner said. “I got mad for a little bit because I thought we were gonna lose. Overall I thought our courage was amazing.”
The final two sets, however, would not be easy, as it was the Wildcats who started off on the right foot by taking an early 9-6 lead over the home team.
Louisburg gained a substantial lead approaching the end of the fourth set, and despite a late rally by Eudora, the visitors evened up the sets at 2-2 after winning the set 25-19.
In a winner take all fifth set, Eudora had a sizable lead early on and appeared to have the match secured at home.
However, Louisburg made one more late run themselves, and eventually tied up the score entering into the final moments with the teams just needing 15 points to win the match.
Following back-and-forth play down the stretch, it went into another win by two scenario, and that set the stage for the Cardinals to make history on senior night, just needing two points to beat Louisburg once and for all.
The Cardinals got those two points and won the fifth set 16-14, winning the match three sets to two and capping off their home schedule, with one of the biggest wins in all of 2022 for the program.
As the team looks to close out their regular season over the next few weeks, Cleveland still believes their best volleyball is still ahead of them, as the postseason looms in the mind of the Cardinals.
“Consistency is the biggest piece right now,” Cleveland said. So taking on the role of doing their job and doing it well and being consistent at it will just benefit us in the long run.”
The team plays its next match Saturday on the road against De Soto, in what will be the first of five matches away from home to close out their 2022 regular season.
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Reach reporter Gus Baylow at [email protected].
