Volleyball Game Preview: Cherryville Ironmen vs. Burns Bulldogs

The Cherryville Ironmen will head out to take on the Burns Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Wednesday, Cherryville was able to grind out a solid victory over Stuart W. Cramer, taking the game 3-1.

The win didn't come easy: Stuart W. Cramer scored at least 18 points in every set. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 17-25, 25-18, 25-23.

Kate Bookout

Serving Aces (Career)

10/01/25 vs Stuart W. Cramer	4
09/24/25 @ Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy	2
09/16/25 vs Bessemer City	2
09/08/25 @ Piedmont Community Charter	2
08/19/25 @ West Lincoln	2

Cherryville's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kate Bookout, who had nine digs and four aces. Those four aces gave Bookout a new career-high. Camryn Shirley was another key player, getting 16 digs and two assists.

They weren't the only good servers: Cherryville was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Burns hadn't done well against Highland Tech recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Bulldogs walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Rams.

While Burns might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Highland Tech scored at least 22 points in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 25-22.

Cherryville's record now sits at 11-7. As for Burns, they pushed their record up to 16-5 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home.

Cherryville might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Burns when the teams last played back in September. Can the Ironmen avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.