After both having extra time off, the Badger Braves and the Western Reserve Blue Devils will shake off the rust and duke it out at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Badger was able to grind out a solid win over Bloomfield, taking the game 3-1.
Badger had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 22-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-19.
Sophia Sutton
| 10/07/25 @ Bloomfield | 14 |
| 10/06/25 vs Chalker | 8 |
| 10/02/25 @ Bristol | 2 |
| 10/01/25 vs Champion | 9 |
| 09/30/25 @ Lordstown | 8 |
| + 3 more games |
Badger's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Sophia Sutton, who had 14 digs and seven aces. That's the most digs Sutton has posted over her last eight matchups. The team also got some help courtesy of Brianna Lendak, who had 11 kills, ten digs, and six aces.
They weren't the only good servers: Badger was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 23 aces. They are 12-3 when they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, Western Reserve got the win against Springfield on Wednesday by a conclusive 3-0.
Western Reserve never let Springfield on the board, but things got pretty close in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-20.
Badger is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season. As for Western Reserve, the victory got them back to even at 11-11.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Badger hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 4.3 blocks per game. It's a different story for Western Reserve, though, as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.9 blocks. Given Badger's sizable advantage in that area, the Blue Devils will need to find a way to close that gap.
Badger came up short against Western Reserve in their previous matchup back in October of 2020, falling 3-1. Will the Braves have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
