The Abundant Life Challengers will square off against the Johnson Creek Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Abundant Life took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They walked away with a 3-1 win over Madison Country Day.
The final score came out to 25-20, 25-12, 20-25, 25-14.
Johnson Creek not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since October 22, 2024 (when they won 3-0). They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over Williams Bay. The victory continues a trend for the Bluejays in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won seven in a row.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Johnson Creek took every set by at least 14 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-9, 25-11, 25-10.
Johnson Creek's win came from a few key players Abundant Life will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Caroline Armstrong, who had six aces and four digs. That's the most aces she has posted over her last four matchups. Kira Boehm was another key player, getting four aces and one assist.
Johnson Creek was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 15 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in three consecutive contests.
Johnson Creek's win bumped their record up to 9-7. As for Abundant Life, their victory bumped their record up to 21-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Abundant Life has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Johnson Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Abundant Life's way against Johnson Creek when the teams last played back in September of 2024, as Abundant Life made off with a 3-0 win. Do the Challengers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bluejays turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
