By Thomas Grant Jr.
Just call them the “3-Peat” Lady Cardinals.
The Cardinal Newman volleyball team defeated Porter-Gaud in three sets to win the SCISA Class 4A title Tuesday at Lexington High School.
It was the third consecutive title for the Lady Cardinals (33-9-2) who did not lose a set in five playoff matches. The match against the Lady Cyclones went in similar form in straight sets 25-21, 25-12, 25-18.
“This showed how much work and how much more work we put in than other teams to be able to be here to get this third straight championship and be the team that Cardinal Newman is known for,” said setter Tori Brandon, the lone senior on this year’s team who missed all of the regular season due to injury.
The first set was a back and forth battle before the Lady Cardinals capitalized on iopenings for kills to win the first set. Cardinal Newman dominated the second set, leading as many as 13 points. The third set saw Porter-Gaud make a final bid to stay in the match, but the Lady Cardinals pulled away and needed just two match points to clinch the victory.
Afterwards, Cardinal Newman head coach Cynthia Dimapan praised the leadership on her team heavily dominated by freshman like Lauren Rivers. Havin juniors outside hitter Danielle Dais and middle blocker Leila Hargrove and the senior Brandon helped bring together another championship.
All photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
