LEAD - The St. Thomas More Lady Cavalier attack and service game ended up being too much for the Harding County Ranchers on Saturday night in the championship game of the Lead-Deadwood Mile High Invitational as the Cavaliers won the title in three games 25-19, 22-25, 25-22.
St. Thomas More ended the tournament a perfect 6-0, playing all six games in one day, Harding County finished 4-2 with both losses coming against the Cavaliers.
"It's long day when you play all the games in one day," said St. Thomas More head coach Brandon Kandolin. "You ask the girls to be prepared, and you hope you work enough in practice to be prepared both physically and mentally because I think both wore on us, so I'm very proud of the girls competing the way they did."
The Cavaliers were led in attack by Katy Freidel who had nine kills and two aces, however it was a complete team effort with three other players all having at least five kills in the game.
In Game 1, the Cavalier attack made the difference as they took the first game 25-19. The Ranchers led in the first game 13-12 behind a powerful cross court smash by Joey Painter, but the Cavaliers also went on a late run to take the lead. Alexa White had four kills in the first game, including the game winner.
In the second game, Harding County rallied from seven points down to win 25-22. Joey Painter led the way for the Ranchers with four kills, and Samantha Jensen had three ace serves.
But St. Thomas More bounced back in the third and final game behind team hitting and solid defense. Laura Nelson, Erin Duffy, and Freidel all had three kills in the final game. Harding County again rallied behind strong hitting from Painter who ended with 11 kills in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Cavaliers attack won several key points late in the match.
"There was great competition here," said Kandolin. "Harding County took it to us earlier in the year, and there were a lot of other solid teams. I'm very proud of what we were able to accomplish. It should build some confidence for us and hopefully we can continue to build on that."
