The Yorktown Kitty Kats came out strong but couldn’t finish late rallies, falling to the St. Paul Cardinals in three sets Tuesday night, Sept. 2, at home, 21-25, 19-25, 14-25.
In set one, Yorktown erased an early deficit behind Palyn Koopman’s serving run, which included two aces to push the Kats ahead 8-7. At the net, Carly Weischwill and Claire Person added key blocks, and the Kats built an 18-14 lead. However, the Cardinals regrouped, capitalizing on Yorktown miscues to close the set on a late run and take it 25-21.
The second set was dominated early by Yorktown. Person recorded a block for a 5-2 lead, followed by an ace from Gracie Stehling to make it 6-2. Avery Martin and Person sparked a long rally that put the Kats ahead 14-9. But the Cardinals stormed back with a run of their own, tying the score at 14-14. Martin responded with a kill to briefly restore the lead, and a crisp sequence of a Martin pass, Carsyn Brown set, and Person kill extended Yorktown’s drive. Still, St. Paul proved too much down the stretch, closing out the set 25-19.
