The Kennedale Wildcats will challenge the Ryan Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Kennedale hadn't beaten Ferris on the road since October 21, 2022 but that history sure didn't bother them on Tuesday. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Yellowjackets with a sharp 3-0 win.
One reason for the win was Kennedale's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 25-22, 25-17.
Ryan had lost three straight headed into Tuesday's match, but Abigail Vasquez didn't let it get to four. The Raiders came out on top against Denton by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday thanks in part to Vasquez, who had 20 digs and two aces. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in each of the last 13 games she's played.
Ryan had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-17.
Kennedale better focus on containing Preslie Shiflett and Aaliyah Ybarra as the pair were huge in Ryan's win. Shiflett had 12 digs, while Ybarra had 23 digs, 14 kills, two aces, and one block. That's the most digs Shiflett has posted since back in September.
Kennedale's victory bumped their record up to 12-15. As for Ryan, their win bumped their record up to 16-17.
Kennedale was able to grind out a solid victory over Ryan when the teams last played back in August of 2015, winning 2-0. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
