Volleyball Preview: Santa Margarita Eagles vs. JSerra Catholic Lions
Santa Margarita and JSerra Catholic are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2019, but not for long. The Santa Margarita Eagles are on the road again on Tuesday to play the JSerra Catholic Lions at 6:00 a.m.
Santa Margarita is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Mater Dei, who was ranked second in their home state at the time (Santa Margarita was ranked 23rd). Santa Margarita lost 3-0 to Mater Dei on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Eagles have suffered since October 11, 2023.
While Santa Margarita was kept off the board, it wasn't for a lack of trying: they cut into Mater Dei's winning margin in every set. The match finished with set scores of 25-17, 25-23, 26-24.
The losing side was boosted by Isabella Simon, who had nine digs and five aces. She is on a roll when it comes to aces, as she's now served five or more in the last three games she's played.
Meanwhile, JSerra Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over La Canada on Saturday, taking the game 2-0.
JSerra Catholic never let La Canada on the board, but things got pretty close in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 25-22, 25-14.
Skylar Noble was the offensive standout of the match as she had four digs and four aces. Those four aces gave her a new career-high.
Santa Margarita's loss dropped their record down to 19-10. As for JSerra Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 19-12.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Santa Margarita has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.7 aces per game. However, it's not like JSerra Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Santa Margarita came out on top in a nail-biter against JSerra Catholic in their previous matchup back in September, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Santa Margarita since the squad 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
