If Benicia was feeling good off their 3-0 takedown of Bethel last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Benicia Panthers fell just short of the Saint Mary's Panthers by a score of 3-2 on Friday. While Benicia didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Benicia started the match hot and won the firsttwo sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. After all that action, the final score was 21-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-13.
Despite the defeat, Benicia had strong showings from Zoe Cohen, who had 29 digs and two aces, and Lydia Flanagan, who had seven aces and five digs. The last time Flanagan's hitting percentage was this high was back in August.
Even though they lost, Benicia was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 17 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in four consecutive matchups.
Saint Mary's found their leader in underclassman Sofia Seiden, who had seven digs and two aces.
Benicia's loss dropped their record down to 7-5. As for Saint Mary's, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.
Benicia will square off against Maria Carrillo at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Maria Carrillo is coming into the match with five straight defeats on the road, meaning Benicia will have to defend against a team hungry for a win. As for Saint Mary's, they will take on Berean Christian at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Berean Christian will roll in looking for their seventh straight victory, something Saint Mary's surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
