The East Wilkes Cardinals dropped a hard-fought game to the West Davidson Dragons on Wednesday evening.

"The first set, we weren't very happy with how we played. We didn't play great defense during the first set," said coach Sheila Holloway.

The Cardinals had seven missed serves in the first set, but only lost 22-25. During the second set, missed serves again plagued the Cardinals, but again fell 22-25 to the Dragons.

"Because we are short, our serves have to be aggressive," Holloway said.

The Cardinals dropped the third and final set of the evening 19-25.

Although they kept close during the first two sets, the Cardinals couldn't overcome miscues to win a set.

During the third set, West Davidson jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over East. Through most of the final set, the Cardinals gave the Dragons a close run, with scores running back and forth. Although the Cardinals lost, they pushed the Dragons during several long rallies.

"Even though it didn't show it, we played much better during the third set than the first two," Holloway said.

The Dragons showcased an extremely tall team, with players as tall as 6'3".

"I knew it would be tough when we scheduled this game, but when we play teams like Starmount, Forbush, and Alleghany, it's good to pepper in some non-conference competition," Holloway said.

Although the game against West Davidson gave the Cardinals a break in conference play, they played similar to other conference schools they will face.

"They are a very good 2A program," Hollway said in reference to the Dragons.

The Cardinals will look to rebound Monday when they hit the road and travel to Dobson to face the Surry Central Golden Eagles, beginning at 4:30 p.m.