Volleyball Game Preview: Manatee Hurricanes vs. Lakewood Ranch Mustangs

Manatee hasn't had much luck against Lakewood Ranch recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Hurricanes will square off against the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Manatee took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 3-1 victory over Palmetto.

The win didn't come easy: Palmetto scored at least 19 points in every set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 25-19, 14-25, 25-22.

Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over Braden River on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Mustangs.

Lakewood Ranch wouldn't go down easily and took Braden River into a fifth set where they got it done with a three-point win. The final score came out to 25-15, 24-26, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12.

The win got Manatee back to even at 9-9. As for Lakewood Ranch, their victory bumped their record up to 14-8.

Manatee suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Lakewood Ranch in their previous matchup back in August. Can the Hurricanes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.