CONDON – After Ione won the first game, the Condon Blue Devils won three straight games to knock off the league-leading Cardinals 20-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-11 in a Big Sky Conference volleyball match Tuesday.

Condon (4-2 BSC) was able to dominate the net with powerful play from Jessica Snyder and Angela Anderson to build momentum that frustrated Ione. Snyder led the Blue Devils with 11 kills and seven blocks and Anderson had nine kills and six blocks en route to a victory.

“We played great tonight and all the girls played great as a team,” said Condon head coach Shandie Marker.

Ione and Condon were knotted at nine in the first game before the Cardinals pulled away with solid net play from Natalie McElligot. Ione was able to force Condon errors to claim game one.

“We played well at times, but we let down and Condon took advantage,” said Ione head coach Charity McElligott. “It was a good match.”

In the second game, Ione kept its momentum and built a 7-4 lead, but the Blue Devils refused to go away. Snyder took the game into her hands with several big kills. The game featured hard hitting on both sides and several long rallies that were won by Condon. The Blue Devils overcame an Ione comeback to win game two 25-21.

“This was an awesome match and it’s always nice to beat the number one team in the league,” said Marker.

Haylee Farrar started game three with several strong serves, including an ace that sparked the Blue Devils to a 6-0 lead. Natalie McElligot refused to buckle and powered the Cardinals back to a 7-7 tie with two of her game-high 17 kills.

“Natalie played a solid match and she helped us with her net play,” Coach McElligott said.

Condon led 17-14 when Anderson had a big block for the Blue Devils and three kills in the last five points of the game to propel Condon to a game three victory.

“We seemed to hit very well tonight, but our serving was a little weak and we need to work on it,” Marker said.

Condon was fired up for the fourth game and Snyder continued her hard hitting for the Blue Devils, forcing Cardinals errors. Sharon Hawk chipped in with five kills in the match, and three of them came in the fourth game to help Condon stretch its lead to 17-7. Snyder ended the match with a kill to give the Blue Devils the match.

“This will give us a lot of momentum and the girls are excited about the win,” Marker said.

“Our rotations are working out very well right now and I think the team chemistry is the best that we’ve had all year.”

Diana McElligott had six kills for the Cardinals and Meghan McCabe had 35 assists.

Katee Humphrey had four kills and several big blocks for the Blue Devils.

Ione dropped to 7-1 in conference play with the loss.