Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Canfield celebrates after scoring a point Tuesday evening at Howland. The Cardinals beat the Tigers 3-1.

HOWLAND — What a difference a week makes. The Canfield Cardinals visited Howland on Tuesday, a week after sweeping the Tigers 3-0. Although the outcome was the same, the Tigers put up a heck of a battle as Canfield won the All-American conference clash 26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22.

“You could tell that coach Florek definitely took them to practice and made adjustments,” Canfield coach Brooklynn Scott said. “There were times when we couldn’t find any open spots on the floor. I was impressed. They were way harder to play than last time.”

Howland junior KyRenae Matlock had a huge back-tap, from behind the line, all the way over the net, and the Tigers were up 15-11 in the first set.

A big block from Addie Fonderlin got the Cardinals back in it. Senior Abbie Householder served up an ace, and the score was tied 24-24.

The Tigers got confused, and the ball hit the floor. Householder, who led Canfield with 31 kills and 22 digs, closed it out with a spike.

“There were definitely some ups and downs tonight,” Householder said. “It was frustrating at times. It proved just how much of a team sport volleyball is. Our chemistry came together. We’re all here to have fun and do our best.”

Howland (7-12) did their best by winning the second set. Senior Jamie DeSalvo got the Tigers going with a block. Then, sophomore Alyssa Massuci put it away with a kill.

“I think we played them extremely tough compared to a week ago,” Howland coach Amanda Florek said. “To see the caliber of a player that Householder is for them kind of shocked us in the beginning. But, once we got it rolling, they knew we could stay with them. I’m excited with how we responded going into the playoffs.”

Senior Ellie Moore (team-high 36 assists) went diving to the floor in an all-out effort for Howland. However, after a block by Canfield’s Abby Muckleroy, the Cardinals built an 11-6 advantage. Alanna Lawson dug it out, and had five aces for Canfield, but Lauren Roberts (team-high 19 digs) served the Tigers back to a 23-23 tie.

Parker Wilkins’ and Riley Kinkade’s (team-high 29 assists) hustle helped the Cardinals escape in the third.

Howland’s Courtney Clark (team-high 18 kills) took a big swing on one attempt late in the match but sent it too far before bouncing back to convert a later attempt to help the Tigers build a 21-18 lead in the fourth.

“Howland gave us as much as we could handle,” Scott said. “If we would have went to five sets, I would have been a little nervous. They got themselves out of it, and I think it’s important to be able to do that at this time of the season.”

Ally Quirk and the rest of the Cardinals (12-7) regrouped. They closed out the match with back-to-back kills from Bella Bucciarelli and Householder to earn the victory.