STEELVILLE — The Steelville High School volleyball team began the home stretch of its regular season on Oct. 13 against Cuba. Steelville celebrated Pink Night, and raised $3,224.50 for a Steelville community member currently battling cancer.

Before the match started, all players and coaches from both teams locked arms and participated in a prayer for those affected by cancer.

Steelville’s JV team took the court first and played well against a Cuba JV team that came into the match at 17-8. The Lady Cards won the first set 25-18 and lost the second set 16-25. But Steelville bounced back in the third set, and won 25-17 to win the match.

Steelville’s varsity team didn’t have such luck against the Lady Wildcats, who had won six matches in a row and the Belle Varsity Volleyball Tournament heading into the matchup. Steelville lost in straight sets 14-25, 16-25 and 19-25 to drop the match. 

The Lady Cardinals quickly turned things around the next night on Oct. 14, when they traveled to Bourbon to play on the Lady Warhawks’ own Pink Night. Steelville’s JV team started the evening and won 25-22 and 25-15 to win the match in straight sets. The Lady Cardinals varsity team rebounded from the night before and seemed to play with a chip on their shoulder in front of a raucous student section. Steelville won a close first set 25-21 before settling in and winning the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-18 to sweep Bourbon and earn the victory. They finished the season with a 5-3 record in the Gasconade Valley Conference.

Steelville then played their last regular season match on Oct. 16 at Bunker High School. The Lady Cardinals’ JV team took care of business first, and won 25-15 and 25-13 in straight sets to win the match. The JV team finished its season with a stellar 14-3-1 record, leaving fans and coaches excited about the future.

Steelville’s varsity team lost a hard fought first set 25-23, but didn’t back down. The Lady Cards won the second set 25-14 before winning a close third set 26-24. Steelville then won the fourth set 25-18 to win the match and head into postseason play with positivity.

The Lady Cardinals are a number two seed in district tournament play and will have a first round bye. They will play the winner between Conway and Dixon on Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at Dixon High School.