Volleyball Game Preview: Yucaipa Thunderbirds vs. Citrus Valley Blackhawks

Yucaipa is a perfect 10-0 against Citrus Valley since March of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Yucaipa Thunderbirds will host the Citrus Valley Blackhawks at 5:00 p.m. Citrus Valley took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Yucaipa, who comes in off a win.

Last Thursday, Yucaipa had just enough and edged out Liberty 3-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunderbirds.

Yucaipa was actually outscored in aggregate across those five sets (116-108), but they still managed to win. The match finished with set scores of 24-26, 26-24, 28-26, 13-25, 17-15.

James Lopez

Assists

03/06/25 @ Liberty	38
03/04/25 @ Vista del Lago	45
02/27/25 vs Arrowhead Christian	31
02/20/25 vs Centennial	32
04/25/24 vs Crean Lutheran	24
+ 14 more games

Yucaipa's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was James Lopez, who had nine digs and five aces. Lopez is also on a roll when it comes to assists, as he's now posted 12 or more in each of the last 19 games he's played dating back to last season. Van Johnson also deserves some recognition as he had his first kill of the season.

Meanwhile, Citrus Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They came up short against Los Osos, falling 3-0.

Citrus Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Yucaipa, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.

Yucaipa was able to grind out a solid victory over Citrus Valley in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 2-0. Will Yucaipa repeat their success, or does Citrus Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.