Dominican outside hitter Rani Smith set the tone with a block in the first set of the rivalry “Pink Game” match against Mount Carmel on Wednesday, which was her first of many.

A junior, Smith finished with 10 blocks and 12 kills and was one of three Dominican players to record double-digit kills. The district match at Mount Carmel lasted four sets, with Dominican winning 25-13, 27-25, 23-25, 25-17.

Mount Carmel was able to take the third set with junior Lila Franovich leading the way with five kills, but Dominican adjusted to take the fourth set to secure the match.

“We had to make some adjustments,” Dominican coach Jessica Chatellier said. “(Mount Carmel) did a really nice job of running the middle in the third set, and we didn’t really have any answers for their middle. We changed our defense around a bit, and we were able to see some success with that in the fourth set.”

Smith recorded six of her 10 blocks in the first set. She recorded three kills in the final set, including a strong spike that put Dominican up by five points.

“I really had to use my energy,” Smith said. “I’ve been preparing for this all week, and I think that I did everything that I needed to do to win. I knew who I was going up against and knew what I had to do.”

Dominican senior Molly Baker and sophomore Hazel Roots each had five blocks. Senior Mallie Mahoney led the way with 14 kills, and sophomore Hadley Bonifachich finished with 12 kills.

Junior Kaitlyn Byrd had nine kills for Dominican along with two blocks. Sophomore Aubrie Dalton had two aces, and Baker delivered six kills along with multiple assists.

“(Baker) does a great job of running our offense and changing things up,” Chatellier said. “I think all of our hitters had a chance to contribute in this match, which makes it very hard for the other team to know where we’re going.”

Franovich led Mount Carmel with 14 kills along with two blocks. Senior Annabelle La Bure finished with six kills and three aces, and juniors Gabrielle Locascio and Allie Steele finished with multiple blocks.

“(Dominican’s) defense played flawless, and we couldn’t stop Rani Smith,” Mount Carmel coach Tyler Ricaud said. “Just swinging hard and trying to move the ball around the block. We just fell short tonight.”

Dominican improved to 29-3 overall and 4-1 in district play and will next face Country Day on Wednesday. Next up for Mount Carmel (27-3, 3-1) is a tournament that begins Friday.