The Stevens Raiders will venture away from home to square off against the Mitchell Kernels at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Stevens is coming into the match hot, having won their last eight games.
Stevens barely beat Huron the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Raiders blew past the Tigers 3-0 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Raiders have posted against the Tigers since October 18, 2019.
Stevens not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Huron between 16 and 19 points across their sets. The final score came out to 25-16, 25-19, 25-19.
Meanwhile, Mitchell made easy work of Rapid City Central on Friday and carried off a 3-0 win.
While Mitchell won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-11, 25-10, 26-24.
Mitchell found their leader in sophomore Londyn Hajek, who had seven digs and two aces.
Mitchell was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 13 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least nine aces in four consecutive matchups.
Mitchell's victory bumped their record up to 10-4. As for Stevens, their win bumped their record up to 21-3.
Stevens took their victory against Mitchell when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
