The Lady Cardinals and their supporters had a long action packed Saturday competing in the Cuba Varsity Volleyball Tournament along with Bourbon, Cuba, St. James, Belle, Viburnum, Herculaneum, Licking, Jefferson and Warrenton. Cuba’s Mike Voigt Gymnasium was split into two courts to accommodate the matches, which spanned from 8 a.m. until around 7:30 p.m., nearly 12 hours. 

Steelville finished in fourth place after falling to Cuba in the third place game. Cuba won the first set 25-21, the Lady Cards bounced back in the second set to win 25-17 and force a third and final set. However, Cuba came out on top 25-20 and Steelville went home tired and with a fourth place finish. Licking won the tournament and Washington came in second place. Statistics from the tournament weren’t available. 

Earlier in the week, the Lady Cardinals picked up victories over Viburnum and St. James.

Steelville hosted Kingston Sept. 22, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Red and White will play in Bourbon Sept. 24 and its junior varsity team will play in Cuba’s Sept. 26 JV Tournament. Steelville’s varsity will play in Licking Sept. 29 and host Cuba Oct. 1 in its Pink Out Game, which will raise funds for a community member’s battle with cancer.  

Sept. 15 vs. Viburnum

The Lady Cardinals traveled to Viburnum to take on the Lady Blue Jays in a Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) showdown. Steelville’s junior varsity team played first and put on a dominating performance, winning 25-7 and 25-5 to earn a victory in straight sets and advance to 3-1 on the season. 

The Lady Cardinals’ varsity team didn’t blow out Viburnum, but also fared well, winning 25-19, 25-20 and 25-13 to enjoy the bus ride home with its second win of the season.  

Emeri Perkins had her fingerprints all over the game, registering 18 receptions, 15 kills, 11 digs and one block. Kylee Livesay dished out a game and season-high 24 assists and had two service aces, Jazmyn Hurd had 18 receptions and nine digs, Claire Settles tallied 12 assists and five digs, Kaylin Gillam had 13 kills and three service aces and Sylvia Davis added six kills and six digs in Steelville’s win.  

Sept. 16 vs. St. James

Steelville played the following evening in St. James against the Lady Tigers. The Lady Cardinals’ junior varsity continued its strong play from the night before, walloping St. James 25-3 in the first set before winning 25-14 in the second set to earn a match victory. 

Steelville’s varsity team also had a strong showing, earning a win in straight sets after winning 25-5, 25-20 and 25-11 to advance to 3-2 on the season. 

The Lady Cardinals were especially dominant serving the ball, tallying a whopping 30 service aces. Gillam led the way, compiling eight aces and five kills. Hurd had 10 receptions, seven aces and seven digs. Perkins had a game-high 12 kills along with five receptions, five digs and three aces. Livesay added 13 assists, seven digs and six aces and Davis chipped in six digs and three kills.