Volleyball Preview: Canisius Crusaders vs. St. Francis Red Raiders
Canisius is 10-0 against St. Francis since October of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Canisius Crusaders and the St. Francis Red Raiders are set to duel. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Canisius is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New York's top teams: St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Canisius was ranked 17th). Canisius came up short against St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute on Wednesday, falling 3-0. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Crusaders were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, St. Francis came up short against Williamsville East on Friday and fell 3-1. While the Red Raiders didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Flames 25-23 in the first set.
St. Francis started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21.
Despite the defeat, St. Francis had strong showings from Logan Burns, who had 11 digs, and Jack Salerno, who had six digs and three kills. Burns is on a roll when it comes to digs, as he's now had ten or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Canisius has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-4 record this season. As for St. Francis, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 7-9.
Canisius beat St. Francis 3-1 when the teams last played two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for Canisius since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
