Steelville High School’s volleyball team capped its regular season with a victory Oct. 15 over Bunker on senior night.

Prior to the game, Steelville’s six seniors Maggie Bunch, Gracie Mae Boone, Sylvia Davis, Jazmyn Hurd, Kylee Livesay and Emeri Perkins were honored with their families. Steelville’s other fall senior athletes, golfers Emma Garrison and Regan Bratcher and cross country runner Owen Rutledge, were also honored.

In their last week of regular season action, The Lady Cardinals also defeated Bourbon Oct. 13 and fell to Cuba Oct. 12. Steelville finished the regular season with a 16-7-3 record, topping last year’s 15 win total with chances to add to it in Districts.

After playing all of its regular season games at Steelville Middle School, the Steelville R-3 District announced that they will host the Class 2 District 7 Tournament at Steelville High School. The gym floor at Steelville High School received renovations throughout the summer and the fall and got the okay that it will be ready for the Oct. 20 District quarterfinals.

The Lady Cardinals are seeded second and have a first round bye. They will face the winner of three-seeded Plato and six-seeded Dixon at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the semifinals. Number one seed Licking will play the winner of four-seeded Bourbon and five-seeded Belle at 5 p.m. on Oct. 21.

Oct. 12 vs. Cuba

The Lady Cardinals took the short drive down Highway 19 to compete against its familiar foe, the Cuba Lady Wildcats. It was senior night in Cuba, where the Lady Cat seniors also honored Steelville’s seniors and presented them with flowers prior to the varsity game.

Once the friendly pre-game ceremonies ended, an intense match ensued. Steelville won a close first set 25-23 to take the early advantage. Cuba bounced back and took the second set 25-16 to tie the match at one set apiece.

The third set was another highly competitive set that could’ve gone either way. Unfortunately for Steelville, Cuba was able to string together two consecutive points and win 25-23 to take a 2-1 set lead, which proved to swing the momentum in favor of the Lady Wildcats, as Cuba seized momentum, taking the fourth set 25-19 to win the match.

The match was a showdown between talented front court players: Steelville’s Emeri Perkins and Cuba’s Jaylen Haffer, who will also duel during basketball season. Both players led their team in kills and drew oohs and ahhs from their crowd with vicious spikes.

Perkins tallied 28 digs, 23 receptions and 19 kills to lead the Lady Cardinals. Haffer paced Cuba with 14 kills, 12 blocks, 11 receptions and 10 digs.

Jazmyn Hurd recorded a game-high 29 receptions along with 21 digs. Claire Settles registered 16 assists, 14 digs and 11 kills. Kylee Livesay had 24 assists, 16 digs and six kills. Sylvia Davis added nine digs and five kills and Gracie Mae Boone chipped in 15 receptions and two digs.

Steelville’s junior varsity team fell 25-14 and 25-17 in the first match of the evening between the Lady Cardinals and Lady Wildcats.

Oct. 13 vs. Bourbon

Steelville hosted the Bourbon Lady Warhawks the following afternoon for its last Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) match of the regular season. Following the loss to Cuba the night before, The Lady Cardinals took out their frustrations on the Lady Warhawks, outscoring them 75-31 in the three sets of action. Steelville won the first set 25-14 before controlling the last two sets 25-10 and 25-7 to earn a match victory in straight sets. The Lady Cardinals improved to 15-7-3 with the win and Bourbon fell to 9-17-5 with the loss.

Perkins had 11 kills, 10 receptions and eight digs to pace Steelville. Settles did a little of everything for the Lady Cardinals, tallying nine digs, nine assists, seven receptions, six kills and four service aces. Livesay recorded 12 assists, seven digs and four aces and Hurd had 13 digs and four service aces.

Steelville’s junior varsity team also earned a victory after winning two out of three sets. The Cardinals won the first set 25-21, lost the second set 25-21 before taking the third set with a 15-11 advantage.

Oct. 15 vs. Bunker

Emotions were high on senior night at Steelville Middle School, and the Lady Cardinals made sure to end its regular season on a high note.

The first set was competitive, until it wasn’t. After Bunker tied the score at 14, Steelville scored 11 straight points to cruise to a 25-14 win. Bunker appeared determined to fight back in the second set, which was close until the end. But Steelville was able to rally late and won 25-23 to take a 2-0 advantage. The Lady Cardinals then won the third set 25-20 to earn the match victory in straight sets. Statistics weren’t provided for this match.