Volleyball Game Preview: East Hardy Cougars vs. Southern Rams

The East Hardy Cougars are taking a road trip to take on the Southern Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Saturday, East Hardy was able to grind out a solid win over Petersburg, taking the game 2-0.

The 2-0 score doesn't show just how dominant East Hardy was: they took both sets by at least 11 points. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-14, 25-11.

Meanwhile, Southern had already won three in a row and they went ahead and made it four on Wednesday. They blew past the Campers 3-0.

Southern not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Allegany between 19 and 21 points across their sets. The match finished with set scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-20.

Southern found their leader in sophomore Lea Custer, who had nine digs and one assist. Kaitlyn Sylvania also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.

Southern was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least 12 aces in three consecutive matches.

Southern's victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-5 and their overall record up to 8-9-1. As for East Hardy, their win bumped their record up to 15-7.

Everything went East Hardy's way against Southern in their previous meeting back in September of 2024, as East Hardy made off with a 3-0 victory. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.