Cleveland has gone a perfect 10-0 against Rio Rancho recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Storm will face off against the Rams at 6:30 p.m. Cleveland is coming into the match hot, having won their last nine games.
Cleveland is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Volcano Vista, who was ranked eighth at the time (Cleveland was ranked third). The Storm were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Hawks on Tuesday.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Cleveland took every set by at least 12 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-12, 25-13, 25-8.
Molly Maurer
| 11/04/25 vs Volcano Vista | 29 |
| 10/30/25 vs Piedra Vista | 27 |
| 10/28/25 vs Farmington | 23 |
| 10/23/25 vs Cibola | 21 |
| 10/21/25 vs Rio Rancho | 36 |
| + 40 more games |
Cleveland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Molly Maurer, who had 29 assists and seven digs. Maurer has been hot for a while, having posted 13 or more assists the last 45 times she's played. Aspen Maxey was another key player, getting 11 digs and two aces.
Cleveland 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 five aces in 11 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Rio Rancho, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. Everything went their way against Piedra Vista on Tuesday as they made off with a 3-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Rams in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won four in a row.
Rio Rancho was especially dominant in the first set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-15, 25-20, 25-19.
Rio Rancho's win came from a few key players Cleveland will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Emily Griego, who had seven digs and two aces. Another player making a difference was Allyson Tennent, who had eight digs and three assists.
Cleveland's record now sits at 16-6. As for Rio Rancho, their record is now 12-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Cleveland has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.3 aces per game. However, it's not like Rio Rancho struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Cleveland's way against Rio Rancho when the teams last played back in October, as Cleveland made off with a 3-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Storm since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
