Volleyball Game Preview: Independence Blue Devils vs. Chardon Hilltoppers

The Independence Blue Devils will face off against the Chardon Hilltoppers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Chardon took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Independence, who comes in off a win.

Chardon will be up against a hot Independence squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Blue Devils came out on top against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday.

The final score came out to 25-13, 25-27, 25-11, 25-16.

Anderson Sears

Digs

04/21/26 @ Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin	21
04/20/26 vs Strongsville	19
04/16/26 @ Villa Angela-St. Joseph	11
04/14/26 vs Brecksville-Broadview Heights	28
04/09/26 @ Berkshire	16
+ 27 more games

Independence had a senior duo take command as Anderson Sears had 21 digs and two assists and Jamie Panichi hit 75% for six kills and ten aces, eight digs, and one block. Sears is on a roll when it comes to digs, as he's now had ten or more in each of the last 32 games he's played dating back to last season. Nicholas Spencer also deserves some recognition as he had his first block of the season.

Independence was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Chardon unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-match winning streak on Saturday. They fell just short of Copley by a score of 2-1.

Independence's victory bumped their record up to 11-3. As for Chardon, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.

Independence was able to grind out a solid win over Chardon when the teams last played back in March, winning 3-1. Do the Blue Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hilltoppers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.