Mariah Cooke

A 3-1 victory for the Buccaneer volleyball team in Fairmont on Thursday night had more meaning than just defeating a long-time rival.

The Bucs also clinched the South Central Conference championship with the win, moving to an 8-0 record with two matches to go. All the other conference teams have at least two losses.

In the match against the Cardinals on Thursday, the Bucs won 25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-8. Each game was distinctly different from the others.

In game one, the Bucs got off to a 7-1 lead and kept the six-point lead throughout much of the first set.

Kate Hassing and Jenny Smith dominated at the net as BEA advanced to lead 14-7, then 21-13.

The Cards managed another point, but a big kill by Sydney Ristau ended the game with a 25-14 win for the Bucs.

Game two was a different story. There were four ties and never more than a point separation between the two teams for the first 11 points for each side.

Then the Cards pulled away, getting ahead by as much as four at 20-16.

That is when the Bucs mounted a rally. Two hits by Ashley Olson made the score 21-19, still in Fairmont’s favor. Olson served while the Bucs went ahead 24-21. The Cards got the next two points to make it a one point game at 24-23, favor of BEA, but the Bucs got a final point to win it 25-23.

Fairmont won game three, where the teams traded narrow leads and the score was tied numerous times – the last time at 15-15.

The Cards pulled away after that, and the Bucs couldn’t pull off the rally, losing 25-21.

Game four was all Buccaneers. They jumped out to a 10-2 lead, then advanced it to 16-6.

From there, Morgan Dickman kept up a string of serves and the Bucs cruised to a 25-8 win for the game, and a 3-1 victory in the match.

BEA now has 18 straight conference wins over the past two seasons.

Leading the charge for the Bucs were Hassing and Smith who each had 16 kills in the match.

Smith also had 26 digs and and was 19 of 20 from the service line, with 13 service points. Hassing had 20 digs.

Morgan Dickman was 19 of 21 serving, 15 points and two ace serves. She also had 20 set assists and 10 digs.

Olson had 21 set assists and three ace blocks at the net. Katie Krieger and Sydney Ristau each added two ace blocks.

The 13-5 Bucs host Waseca on Tuesday this week.