MINERAL POINT — After its three-set upset of No. 3-seeded River Ridge (23-1, 12-0 Six Rivers West), Darlington (14-8, 8-4 SWAL) fell to conference champion opponent Mineral Point (18-6, 11-1) in the regional final. 

The Pointers swept the Redbirds twice in the regular season, once at home and once away. Mineral Point used this to power past Darlington 25-17, 30-28, 25-13. 

To get to this rivalry matchup, the Redbirds went through River Ridge first. 

DARLINGTON 3, RIVER RIDGE 0 

DARLINGTON — After coming off a first-round win over Wisconsin Heights (5-14, 4-6 Capitol South), Darlington rode the momentum to sweep the Timberwolves 25-22, 27-25, 25-12. 

With the season at an end, the Redbirds can look back on the 2022 campaign will heads held high. Despite graduating four starters in 2021, Darlington improved its conference record from 7-5 to 8-4. To earn the third-place spot, the Redbirds had two key wins against Cuba City (3-1) and Southwestern (3-2).  

The team graduates four seniors — Mady Wedig, Catie Blosch, Jaylyn Schwartz and Jada Ruf — and will look for underclassmen to feel these gaps.