Volleyball Game Preview: Mission Hills Grizzlies vs. Mt. Carmel Sundevils

The Mission Hills Grizzlies will head out to take on the Mt. Carmel Sundevils at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Mission Hills will be strutting in after a victory while Mt. Carmel will be coming in after a defeat.

Mission Hills not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 16th (when they won 3-0). Everything went their way against Escondido as they made off with a 3-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Grizzlies in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won five in a row.

Mission Hills not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Escondido between 15 and 18 points across their sets. The match finished with set scores of 25-18, 25-15, 25-17.

Noah Buhler

Serving Aces (Career)

04/30/25 vs Escondido	6
03/18/25 vs Ramona	5
04/11/25 @ Escondido	3
03/25/25 vs Rancho Bernardo	3
04/26/25 vs Foothills Christian	2

Mission Hills' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Noah Buhler, who had 12 assists and six aces. Those six aces gave Buhler a new career-high.

Buhler wasn't the only good server: Mission Hills was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 15 aces. That's the most aces they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Mt. Carmel lost 3-0 to Rancho Bernardo on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Sundevils have suffered against the Broncos since April 29, 2021.

While Mt. Carmel was not able to make it on the board, they still kept things close, especially in the second set. The final score came out to 25-16, 26-24, 25-17.

Mt. Carmel has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-21 record this season. As for Mission Hills, their win bumped their record up to 14-9.

Mission Hills took their victory against Mt. Carmel when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Grizzlies since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.