Volleyball Game Preview: Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks vs. Walden Grove Red Wolves

The Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks will face off against the Walden Grove Red Wolves at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Ironwood Ridge will be strutting in after a victory while Walden Grove will be coming in after a loss.

Jayce Soto-Balin

Digs

04/23/25 @ Flowing Wells	28
04/22/25 @ Salpointe Catholic	22
04/21/25 @ Amphitheater	3
04/17/25 vs Sahuaro	18
04/15/25 @ Mica Mountain	13
+ 22 more games

Ironwood Ridge won the last time they faced Flowing Wells, and Jayce Soto-Balin did his part to make sure it happened again. The Nighthawks won by a set and slipped past the Caballeros 3-2 thanks in part to Soto-Balin, who had 28 digs and four aces. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 10.1 digs per game.

The match was a true back-and-forth as no team won consecutive sets, but in the end it was Ironwood Ridge who won the one that mattered. The final score came out to 25-16, 15-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-13.

Meanwhile, Walden Grove was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were a single set away from ending the streak, but they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Sahuaro.

Walden Grove's loss dropped their record down to 6-13. As for Ironwood Ridge, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-12 record this season.

Ironwood Ridge took their win against Walden Grove in their previous matchup on April 8th by a conclusive 3-0 score. Do the Nighthawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Wolves turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.