Niobrara/Verdigre is 1-9 against North Central since October of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Cougars are taking a road trip to take on the Knights at 5:00 p.m. North Central took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Niobrara/Verdigre, who comes in off a win.
Niobrara/Verdigre proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by three) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over Boyd County. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Cougars have posted against the Spartans since September 27, 2016.
Niobrara/Verdigre took Boyd County into a fifth set where they got it done with a six-point win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9.
Meanwhile, North Central came up short against Elgin/Pope John on Tuesday, falling 3-0. The Knights haven't had much luck with the Wolfpack recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Niobrara/Verdigre will need to focus on slowing down Myley Hoffman, one of several North Central players who made an impact when they last played. She had 27 digs. Hoffman has been hot recently, having posted 11 or more digs the last three times she's played. Mya Lewis was another key player, getting 12 kills, eight blocks, and four digs.
North Central's loss dropped their record down to 14-14. As for Niobrara/Verdigre, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-15 record this season.
Niobrara/Verdigre couldn't quite get it done against North Central in their previous matchup on October 9th as they fell 2-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Knights' Sydney Hoffman, who had 12 digs and two aces. Now that the Cougars know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
