DARLINGTON - It was an emotional night for Darlington senior Laura Steiner.
She played her last home match Thursday on Senior Night, and the gym was filled in pink for a fundraising drive for cancer research. The Darlington volleyball team raised $1,800 for the Lafayette County Relay for Life after "Pink Out" games that included selling T-shirts, raffle baskets and a 50-50 raffle the last two years. For Steiner, the 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 loss to Mineral Point hit her hard.
"There are a lot of emotions going through my head," said Steiner, who had five kills and four blocks to lead the Redbirds. "Volleyball is my life. I will never forget it. It made my high school career enjoyable."
The Pointers jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set. The Redbirds (2-10 SWAL) battled back with Steiner delivering a critical kill to cut the Pointers' lead to 13-12. The Pointers rebounded and the Redbirds struggled with service receive and the Pointers scored five straight points to end it. The Redbirds had four service errors in the first set.
"I think when you have a large crowd there is a lot of emotion," Darlington coach Pam Ritchie said. "With Senior Night and girls there is a lot of emotion thinking this will be their last time on this floor. I think that can get in their heads."
Darlington junior Alexa Hardyman, who had four aces, came through with an ace early in the second set to give the Redbirds a 9-6 lead. Steiner and senior Brianna Reichling were aggressive blocking at the net. Steiner delivered a kill that helped spark the Redbirds to a 13-9 lead. Mineral Point rallied and took control when junior Paige Pilling scored seven straight service points to give the Pointers a 17-13 lead.
"We all went out there and played our best," Steiner said. "We just came up a little short. It will be tough to leave this game."
The third set was a seesaw affair. Darlington junior Cassidy Chambers, who had 10 assists, tipped a ball over the net to tie the game at 10. The Pointers battled back and took a 17-12 lead on Rachel McCoy's ace. The Redbirds were resilient in the final set fighting their way back from a 20-15 deficit.
"I thought it was going to be a marathon match like the last time we played Mineral Point," Ritchie said. "I thought it was going to go five games."
Hardyman had an ace and Darlington junior Anna Fitzsimons had back-to-back aces to tie the game at 22. The Redbirds struggled with service receive and hit two out of bounds to end the game. Darlington senior Emily Salathe had eight digs.
Ritchie was excited by Hardyman and Fitzsimons' serving that helped rally the Redbirds.
"Those two stepped up at good times and came through," Ritchie said. "Serving is huge in volleyball. It can make or break you."
The Redbirds' hot serving almost forced a Game 4. However, the Redbirds just couldn't get over the hump.
"Once we started to not succeed, we started to break down," Ritchie said. "We had too many hitting errors. We hit a lot of balls out of bounds."
She played her last home match Thursday on Senior Night, and the gym was filled in pink for a fundraising drive for cancer research. The Darlington volleyball team raised $1,800 for the Lafayette County Relay for Life after "Pink Out" games that included selling T-shirts, raffle baskets and a 50-50 raffle the last two years. For Steiner, the 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 loss to Mineral Point hit her hard.
"There are a lot of emotions going through my head," said Steiner, who had five kills and four blocks to lead the Redbirds. "Volleyball is my life. I will never forget it. It made my high school career enjoyable."
The Pointers jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set. The Redbirds (2-10 SWAL) battled back with Steiner delivering a critical kill to cut the Pointers' lead to 13-12. The Pointers rebounded and the Redbirds struggled with service receive and the Pointers scored five straight points to end it. The Redbirds had four service errors in the first set.
"I think when you have a large crowd there is a lot of emotion," Darlington coach Pam Ritchie said. "With Senior Night and girls there is a lot of emotion thinking this will be their last time on this floor. I think that can get in their heads."
Darlington junior Alexa Hardyman, who had four aces, came through with an ace early in the second set to give the Redbirds a 9-6 lead. Steiner and senior Brianna Reichling were aggressive blocking at the net. Steiner delivered a kill that helped spark the Redbirds to a 13-9 lead. Mineral Point rallied and took control when junior Paige Pilling scored seven straight service points to give the Pointers a 17-13 lead.
"We all went out there and played our best," Steiner said. "We just came up a little short. It will be tough to leave this game."
The third set was a seesaw affair. Darlington junior Cassidy Chambers, who had 10 assists, tipped a ball over the net to tie the game at 10. The Pointers battled back and took a 17-12 lead on Rachel McCoy's ace. The Redbirds were resilient in the final set fighting their way back from a 20-15 deficit.
"I thought it was going to be a marathon match like the last time we played Mineral Point," Ritchie said. "I thought it was going to go five games."
Hardyman had an ace and Darlington junior Anna Fitzsimons had back-to-back aces to tie the game at 22. The Redbirds struggled with service receive and hit two out of bounds to end the game. Darlington senior Emily Salathe had eight digs.
Ritchie was excited by Hardyman and Fitzsimons' serving that helped rally the Redbirds.
"Those two stepped up at good times and came through," Ritchie said. "Serving is huge in volleyball. It can make or break you."
The Redbirds' hot serving almost forced a Game 4. However, the Redbirds just couldn't get over the hump.
"Once we started to not succeed, we started to break down," Ritchie said. "We had too many hitting errors. We hit a lot of balls out of bounds."
