The Maranatha Minutemen will face off against the Valley Christian Defenders at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Maranatha beat Heritage Christian 3-1. The Minutemen haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-8, 25-11, 23-25, 25-18.
Maranatha can attribute much of their success to Blake O'Brien, who had nine digs and two aces, and Zach Shin, who had six digs and two aces. What's more, Shin racked up 12 assists, the most he's had over his last seven contests. Henric Mcbryde also deserves some recognition as he had his first block of the season.
They weren't the only good server: Maranatha was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. They are a perfect 3-0 when they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Valley Christian, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They came out on top against Village Christian by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday.
Valley Christian had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 30-32, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23.
Valley Christian pushed their record up to 10-3 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. As for Maranatha, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.
Maranatha came up short against Valley Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, falling 3-1. Will Maranatha have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other volleyball content.
