The Marian Crusaders will square off against the Elkhorn South Storm at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Elkhorn South will be up against a hot Marian team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Crusaders put the hurt on Lincoln East with a sharp 3-0 victory on Monday. The Crusaders not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since September 30th (when they won 3-0).
Marian never let Lincoln East on the board, but things got pretty close in the second set. The final score came out to 25-20, 28-26, 25-16.
Marian found their leader in freshman Sami Curnyn, who had 11 digs and 11 assists.
Meanwhile, it was a classic North v. South duel when Elkhorn South took on Millard North on Thursday. The Storm blew past the Mustangs 3-0. The Storm haven't had any issues with the Mustangs recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
While Elkhorn South 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, 25-19, 25-22.
Elkhorn South's win came from a few key players Marian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Finley Tate, who had 11 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 three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Campbell Hoeft, who had five digs and three aces.
Elkhorn South was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their ace total in three consecutive matchups.
Marian's victory bumped their record up to 24-7. As for Elkhorn South, their win bumped their record up to 16-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Marian hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 6 blocks per game. It's a different story for Elkhorn South, though, as they've been averaging only 1 blocks. Given Marian's sizable advantage in that area, the Storm will need to find a way to close that gap.
Marian came out on top in a nail-biter against Elkhorn South when the teams last played last Saturday, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Storm have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
