The Cavaliers are now 18-4 overall and 6-1 in the NEC after defeating conference foe Milbank 3-0: 25-14, 25-15 and 27-25. Redfield-Doland (16-6) also has a 6-1 NEC record after defeating Deuel Thursday night 3-1: 25-15, 17-25, 25-20, 25-16.
Both teams have two NEC matches left. Redfield-Doland will play Clark/Willow Lake in Clark on Tuesday and will host Sisseton in Redfield Oct. 19. Roncalli's final conference matches will be at Webster on Oct. 19 and Clark/Willow Lake on Oct. 22 at the Roncalli gym.
For homecoming week, the Cavaliers were hitting on all cylinders against Milbank.
"I'm excited for and proud of the girls, because I felt like we played a full match in an important Northeast Conference contest," Roncalli coach Janelle Bierle said. "Tonight, we put it all together. We served and hit well and our serve-receive was working. So hopefully we are peaking at the right time."
The Roncalli seniors had their prints all over this match. In the third game, they especially pulled the Cavaliers out of the fire when Milbank - a school with a long and proud tradition of great volleyball - rallied.
Roncalli looked as if it had the match in control, cruising to wins in the first two games and taking a 4-0 lead in the third, thanks to the play of seniors Allie Lundquist, Anna Sayler and Taylor Hanson. That is when the Bulldogs appeared to have had enough. They roared back to take an 8-4 lead, a lead they would hold until Roncalli would tie the score at 17. Milbank got a lot of its spark from senior standout Kendra Snaza with 16 kills, 11 digs and three aces.
The rest of the way became a back-and-forth dogfight with both teams with game points. Finally, Roncalli senior Abby Dockter ended the pressure-filled match with two kills and a block. Dockter led the Cavs with 11 kills and two blocks.
"Our back row played really well and our hitters put it away when they needed to and when it counted," said Lundquist, who had 16 set assists and one ace. "It was really, really exciting to win on homecoming. This was a good one to win."
Senior Lindsey Hahler also played well throughout for Roncalli with three aces and six kills. Hanson, meanwhile, spent her night on the floor keeping the volleyball in play. Hanson had 21 of Roncalli's 46 digs.
"Taylor is just so quick and can cover the court from sideline to sideline," Bierle said. "Plus, she wants the ball, which is a trait of a great libero. She played tremendously tonight."
Both Class A teams Roncalli and Milbank now turn their attention to Lake Region Conference foes and top-notch Class B teams. Milbank will host Northwestern Saturday while fifth-rated Roncalli will host No. 1, undefeated Warner (25-0) at the RHS gym.
Serving: Milbank 4 aces (Kendra Snaza 11-12 3 aces); Aberdeen Roncalli 73-77 6 aces (Lindsey Hahler 16-16 3 aces, Alyssa Wherry 14-16 2 aces, Allie Lundquist 16-16 1 ace).
Hitting: Milbank 26 kills (K. Snaza 53-59 16 kills); Aberdeen Roncalli 88-101 29 kills (Abby Dockter 27-30 11 kills, Hahler 21-22 6 kills, Anna Sayler 12-15 5 kills).
Setting: Milbank 25 assists (Tayla Schulte 101-101 21 assists); Aberdeen Roncalli 110-100 27 assists (Allie Lundquist 54-54 16 assists, Kate Heintzman 40-40 11 assists).
Digs: Milbank 43 (K. Snaza 11, Schulte 11); Aberdeen Roncalli 46 (Taylor Hanson 21).
Blocks: Milbank 3 (Abbie Snaza 2); Aberdeen Roncalli 3 (Abby Dockter 2).
Records: Milbank 7-11, 3-4 NEC; Aberdeen Roncalli 18-4, 6-1.