Volleyball Game Preview: Manzano Monarchs vs. Santa Fe Demons

Manzano is 0-10 against Santa Fe since October of 2019 but things could change on Tuesday. The Monarchs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Demons at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Manzano took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Eldorado.

Manzano had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 19-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-13, 15-11.

If Capital wanted to avenge their loss from the last time they played Santa Fe, they should've done a better job of containing Payten Chavez. The Demons blew past the Jaguars 3-0 on Thursday thanks in part to Chavez, who had 12 digs and one assist. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 12 or more in each of the last three games she's played.

Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-8, 25-12, 25-18.

Manzano is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. As for Santa Fe, their victory bumped their record up to 12-7.

Manzano suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Santa Fe in their previous matchup on October 9th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Chavez, who had 11 digs and four aces. Now that the Monarchs know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.