The Johnson County Central Thunderbirds will challenge the Yutan Chieftains at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Johnson County Central will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
On Saturday, Johnson County Central made easy work of Elmwood-Murdock and carried off a 3-0 win.
Johnson County Central never let Elmwood-Murdock on the board, but things got pretty close in the second set. The final score came out to 25-19, 25-23, 25-18.
Johnson County Central found their leader in sophomore Sophia Schmid, who had 13 digs and one assist.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Yutan, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over St. Paul on Saturday.
Yutan was especially dominant in the third set. The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 25-17, 25-12.
Yutan had a senior duo take command as Allison Kirchmann had eight digs and two aces and Kenzie Govier had six digs and four assists.
Yutan's victory bumped their record up to 21-7. As for Johnson County Central, their win bumped their record up to 31-0.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Johnson County Central has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Yutan struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Johnson County Central came up short against Yutan in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, falling 3-1. Can the Thunderbirds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
