Volleyball Game Preview: Althoff Catholic Crusaders vs. Metro-East Lutheran Knights

Althoff Catholic is a perfect 6-0 against Metro-East Lutheran since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Crusaders will face off against the Knights at 4:30 p.m. Althoff Catholic will be strutting in after a victory while Metro-East Lutheran will be coming in after a defeat.

Althoff Catholic took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They walked away with a 2-0 win over Freeburg.

Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Althoff Catholic took both sets by at least ten points. The match finished with set scores of 25-10, 25-15.

Nolan Karban

Digs

05/19/25 vs Freeburg	16
05/13/25 @ Belleville West	9
05/12/25 vs Maryville Christian	6
05/06/25 vs Edwardsville	5
05/03/25 vs Lincoln College Prep	10
+ 10 more games

Althoff Catholic can attribute much of their success to Nolan Karban, who had 16 digs and two assists. That's the most digs Karban has posted since back in April.

Meanwhile, Metro-East Lutheran didn't have quite enough to beat Granite City on Tuesday and fell 2-1. The loss continues a trend for the Knights in their meetings with the Warriors: they've now lost five in a row.

In a back-and-forth that saw neither team win consecutive sets, Metro-East Lutheran sadly dropped the once that decided the match. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 15-25, 25-21.

Metro-East Lutheran's defeat dropped their record down to 2-17. As for Althoff Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 24-7.

Althoff Catholic beat Metro-East Lutheran 2-0 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.