After both having extra time off, the Edwardsville Tigers and the Mater Dei Knights will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
On Tuesday, Edwardsville didn't have quite enough to beat Belleville East and fell 2-1. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
In an exciting match in which no team claimed back-to-back wins, Edwardsville sadly wound up on the wrong side. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 17-25, 25-21.
Edwardsville's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Lucy Malawy, who had seven digs and two aces, and Eve Eberlin, who had nine digs.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei waltzed into their matchup on Monday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 2-0 win over the Crusaders.
Mater Dei easily took the first set, but they let things get interesting in the other. The match finished with set scores of 25-12, 25-19.
Edwardsville better keep an eye on Ava Lampe. She was instrumental in Mater Dei's win, getting 18 digs and two aces. That's the most digs Lampe has posted over her last 11 contests.
Mater Dei's victory bumped their record up to 23-6. As for Edwardsville, their loss dropped their record down to 18-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's match: Edwardsville has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Mater Dei struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Edwardsville beat Mater Dei 2-0 in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
