CUBA CITY — Two of the top-3 teams in the SWAL showed up for the regular-season finale, as Darlington traveled to second-ranked Cuba City on Oct. 17. Unfortunately, the Redbirds (16-13, 9-3) ended with a three set loss, 25-21, 25-16, 25-23.
The Cubans (28-1, 12-0) proved why they deserved a third conference title in five years. They latched onto an early lead, and didn’t relent, despite runs from Darlington.
The Cuba City jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but as the teams worked through the latter half of the set, the Cubans couldn’t shake the Redbirds. After Darlington burst to come within a point at 15-14, Cuba City would go on a brief 3-point run, only for Darlington to have an answer.
The Cubans broke ties at 19 and 20 points with the Redbirds to take a 22-20 lead, and a Darlington timeout followed.
A kill favoring the host school and a free ball error against the away team set the stage for an exit from the first.
The second set started in Darlington’s favor, with Allie Andrews accounting for half of her squad’s 6-3 opening run via aces alone. A championship-caliber Cuba City team wasn’t going to let the set run away, however.
The Cubans worked back in the set to a 10-10 tie, then went on an 8-point run to take a commanding lead. The gap didn’t get closer than six points to the final whistle.
The Redbirds were in charge of their own wins and woes over the first six rallies of the third set. Andrews notched the first point of the set on a kill at the net that bounced off a Cuba City defender and into its side of the net. A trio of Darlington errors set it back quickly, before a Maddie Gratz kill and a Katie Hartwig ace tied things up.
Equal parts kills to errors with a few blocks sprinkled in characterized the majority of the third. The Cubans eventually worked to a 22-19 lead ahead of a Redbird timeout. Coming out of the break, Hartwig scored a kill, and Cuba City committed a free ball error off the Darlington serve. Lilly Ritchie scored a kill just out of reach of the Cuban libero, and the host squad flew another attack of the Redbirds’ back line.
A pair of free ball errors prevented a fourth set.
Gratz was on the front line a majority of the match, securing a team-high 13 kills alongside 27 serve receives with no errors. Ritchie was also effective as she contributed 11 digs and four aces.
