By Casey Lindecrantz

sports@myrjonline.com 

DARLINGTON — The Redbirds took to their home court Sept. 12 and faced less late-set resistance in their win over the Wildcats (4-2, 0-2 SWAL).

Streaks were hard to come by early in the first set. After a 13-13 open, Darlington went on a 12-4 run to take a one-set advantage. The second set opened with a 7-3 deficit for the host squad, but the Redbirds weren’t content to let things slip away. They went on a 9-1 run capped off by an attack from Catie Hartwig flying off Southwestern’s fingertips out of bounds and an ace from Maddie Gratz.

The Wildcats worked Darlington down to a 12-10 split, though the Redbirds didn’t face a deficit to the end of the second, including a 5-point run to close the set. Raynie Norgard hit an ace, followed by a Gratz kill. Southwestern followed her kill with a set error. Both Andrews and Hartwig blocked an attack at the net, and Gratz hit an ace just inside the back court line to ice the set.

Both squads fought through the early points of the third, with Darlington gaining a commanding 16-10 lead around the midpoint. The gap proved to be all the Redbirds needed as they cruised to the match win.