The Ursuline Academy Bears will square off against the Parkway West Longhorns at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Ursuline Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Missouri's top teams: Cor Jesu Academy, who was ranked 16th at the time (Ursuline Academy was ranked 18th). The Bears fell 3-1 to the Chargers on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Ursuline Academy started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The final score came out to 24-26, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17.
Meanwhile, Parkway West also suffered a loss in their last game, falling to Rockwood Summit by a score of 3-1. The Longhorns have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
Parkway West started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 17-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-19.
Ursuline Academy will need to focus on slowing down Macyn Tarter, one of several Parkway West players who made an impact when they last played. She had 11 digs.
Parkway West's loss dropped their record down to 13-7-1. As for Ursuline Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-5.
Ursuline Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against Parkway West in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Longhorns' Sophia Licavoli, who had 25 digs and two assists. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Bears to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
