After both having extra time off, Independence and McDonald will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Independence comes in on three and McDonald on 12.
Independence is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past Kirtland 3-0. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
One reason for the win was Independence's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-17, 25-7.
Sofia Pichert
| 10/22/25 vs Kirtland | 14 |
| 10/20/25 vs Mogadore | 17 |
| 10/16/25 vs Columbia | 10 |
| 10/09/25 vs Archbishop Hoban | 17 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Independence to victory, but perhaps none more so than Sofia Pichert, who had 14 digs and two aces. Pichert is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in each of the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Madelyn Mudra, who had nine digs and three aces.
They weren't the only good servers: Independence was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in eight consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, McDonald made easy work of Lake Center Christian on Wednesday and carried off a 3-0 victory.
While McDonald might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Lake Center Christian scored at least 18 points in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-19, 25-18.
Independence better keep an eye on Miley Titus. She was instrumental in McDonald's win, getting 14 digs and one assist.
Independence's win bumped their record up to 18-6. As for McDonald, their victory bumped their record up to 21-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Independence has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 14 aces per game. However, it's not like McDonald struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
