The Tuslaw Mustangs are taking a road trip to challenge the Lake Catholic Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Tuslaw saw some tournament action on Thursday. They came out on top against Poland Seminary by a score of 3-1.
Tuslaw had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 24-26, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19.
Emma Knouse
| 10/16/25 @ Poland Seminary | 9 |
| 10/13/25 @ Lake Center Christian | 5 |
| 10/04/25 vs Waynedale | 1 |
| 10/04/25 vs New Philadelphia | 2 |
| 10/02/25 vs Triway | 3 |
| + 4 more games |
Tuslaw's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Emma Knouse, who had nine digs and three aces. That's the most digs Knouse has posted since back in September. Kasey Conrad also deserves some recognition as she had her first block of the season.
They weren't the only good servers: Tuslaw was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least eight aces in three consecutive contests.
Lake Catholic had won four straight home games and Ava Starr did her part to make it five on Thursday. Everything went the Cougars' way against Keystone as they made off with a 3-0 win thanks in part to Starr, who had eight digs and two aces. Starr is also crushing it when it comes to assists: she's posted at least 19 every time she's taken the court this season.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Lake Catholic was: they took every set by at least 12 points. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-10, 25-5, 25-13.
Lake Catholic found their leader in sophomore Starr, who had eight digs and two aces. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabby Atwara, who had ten digs.
Tuslaw's record is now 7-16. As for Lake Catholic, their record now sits at 13-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Tuslaw has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Lake Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Tuslaw might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Lake Catholic when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
