After both having extra time off, the Faith Lutheran Crusaders and the Palo Verde Panthers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Faith Lutheran will be strutting in after a victory while Palo Verde will be coming in after a loss.
Faith Lutheran is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Foothill, who was ranked 12th at the time (Faith Lutheran was ranked fifth). The Crusaders skirted past the Falcons 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Crusaders have posted against the Falcons since September 19, 2022.
Faith Lutheran was staring down a 2-1 deficit headed into the fourth set, but they rallied to take the next two for the win. The final score came out to 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11.
Ellee Ford
| 09/25/25 @ Foothill | 7 |
| 08/15/25 @ Pleasant Grove | 5 |
| 10/09/24 @ Silverado | 5 |
| 09/15/25 @ Shadow Ridge | 4 |
| 09/21/24 vs South Pasadena | 3 |
Faith Lutheran relied on the efforts of Ellee Ford, who had 28 digs and two aces, and K Sawyer, who had 22 assists and 13 digs. The dominant performance also gave Ford a new career-high in assists (seven). Chloe Garcia also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
Meanwhile, Palo Verde was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They came up short against Liberty, falling 3-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Panthers have suffered since August 21st.
Palo Verde was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Liberty work for it, especially in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 27-25, 25-21.
Palo Verde's defeat dropped their record down to 9-11. As for Faith Lutheran, the victory got them back to even at 12-12.
Faith Lutheran skirted past Palo Verde 3-2 when the teams last played back in September. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
