Volleyball Game Preview: Northtown Pumas vs. Christ the King Gladiators

Northtown is a perfect 7-0 against Christ the King since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Pumas will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gladiators at 5:00 p.m. Christ the King took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Northtown, who comes in off a win.

On Tuesday, Northtown sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Holy Trinity. The victory continues a trend for the Pumas in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won eight in a row.

It was an exciting match in which no team won back-to-back sets, but at the end of the day Northtown got the one that really mattered. The match finished with set scores of 25-10, 20-25, 25-18.

Peter Khem

Assists (Career)

04/29/25 vs Holy Trinity	15
04/17/25 @ Chicago Academy	12
04/02/25 @ Chicago Hope Academy	11
04/10/25 vs Walther Christian Academy	10
04/28/25 @ Rochelle Zell Jewish	8

Northtown can attribute much of their success to Peter Khem, who had 15 assists and four aces. Those 15 assists gave Khem a new career-high. David Awe also deserves some recognition as he had his first dig of the season.

They weren't the only good server: Northtown was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 19 aces. That's the most aces they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Christ the King was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They fell 2-0 to Chicago Christian.

The final score came out to 25-19, 25-9.

Christ the King's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Northtown, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.

Northtown beat Christ the King 2-0 in their previous meeting back in April. Do the Pumas have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Gladiators turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.