Volleyball Game Preview: St. Raphael Academy Saints vs. Mt. Hope Huskies

After both having extra time off, the St. Raphael Academy Saints and the Mt. Hope Huskies will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Mt. Hope took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on St. Raphael Academy, who comes in off a win.

While St. Raphael Academy's victory against Exeter-West Greenwich wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Saints won by a set and slipped past the Scarlet Knights 3-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Saints.

Meanwhile, Mt. Hope faced Portsmouth in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Huskies took a 3-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Patriots. The matchup marked the Huskies' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

The defeat didn't mean the game wasn't competitive: Portsmouth scored at least 18 points in every set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22.

St. Raphael Academy will have to keep a close watch on Rasheed Braddock and Arion Ferris, a pair of players who had a big impact on Mt. Hope's prior game. Braddock had 13 digs, while Ferris had six digs.

Mt. Hope's loss ended a 12-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 16-3. As for St. Raphael Academy, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-10.

St. Raphael Academy suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Mt. Hope in their previous meeting on May 1st. Can the Saints avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.