Volleyball Game Preview: Rio Americano Raiders vs. Rocklin Thunder

After both having extra time off, the Rio Americano Raiders and the Rocklin Thunder will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Rio Americano will be strutting in after a victory while Rocklin will be coming in after a loss.

Rio Americano can't be too worried about heading out to take on Rocklin: they just beat El Camino at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. The Raiders were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Eagles on Thursday. The win continues a trend for the Raiders in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won five in a row.

The match was exciting from start to finish, as two sets needed extra rallies to gain a two-point lead. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 29-27, 25-18.

Adam Wixom

Assists

04/24/25 @ El Camino	16
04/23/25 @ Christian Brothers	21
04/21/25 vs Inderkum	13

Rio Americano's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Adam Wixom, who had 16 assists and four digs, and Finn Gardner, who had 12 assists and four digs. Wixom has been hot recently, having posted 13 or more assists the last three times he's played.

Meanwhile, Rocklin came up short against Whitney on Wednesday and fell 3-1. While the Thunder didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Wildcats 25-19 in the first set.

Rocklin started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 19-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-20.

Rocklin dropped their record down to 10-16 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Rio Americano, their victory bumped their record up to 14-17.