Volleyball Game Preview: Mother McAuley Mighty Macs vs. IC Catholic Prep Knights + How To Watch

The Mother McAuley Mighty Macs are taking a road trip to challenge the IC Catholic Prep Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. IC Catholic Prep took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Mother McAuley, who comes in off a win.

Mother McAuley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Downers Grove North, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Mother McAuley was ranked second). The Mighty Macs walked away with a 2-0 win over the Trojans on Tuesday. The Mighty Macs haven't had any issues with the Trojans recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Mother McAuley not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Downers Grove North between 16 and 18 points across their sets. The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 25-18.

Lucy Maloney

Digs

10/07/25 @ Downers Grove North	13
10/04/25 vs Assumption	26
10/04/25 vs Divine Savior Holy Angels	28
10/04/25 vs Skutt Catholic	19
10/03/25 vs New Trier	21
+ 14 more games

Mother McAuley can attribute much of their success to Lucy Maloney, who had 13 digs and one assist. Maloney is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in each of the last 19 games she's played.

Meanwhile, IC Catholic Prep was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were a single set away from ending the streak, but they lost a 2-1 heartbreaker at the hands of Chicago Christian.

IC Catholic Prep started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last two. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 23-25, 25-23, 25-8.

Mother McAuley's win bumped their record up to 23-3. As for IC Catholic Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 9-16.

Mother McAuley was able to grind out a solid victory over IC Catholic Prep in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, winning 2-0. Will the Mighty Macs repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.