The St. Anne Cardinals will head out to take on the Donovan Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
It was a proper cat-fight when St. Anne challenged Gardner-South Wilmington on Tuesday. The Cardinals fell 2-0 to the Panthers.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 25-11.
Despite their defeat, St. Anne saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Tatum Kirkland, who had three digs, two aces, and one block, was perhaps the best of all.
Meanwhile, Donovan sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over St. Anne last Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won four in a row.
It was an exciting match in which no team won back-to-back sets, but at the end of the day Donovan got the one that really mattered. The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 17-25, 25-12.
St. Anne better focus on containing Lily Anderson and Layla Lou Walters as the pair were huge in Donovan's win. Anderson had 14 digs and two aces, while Walters had seven digs, two aces, and one block. That's the most aces Walters has posted over her last three matchups.
Donovan was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. They are 8-1 when they serve at least ten aces.
Donovan's victory bumped their record up to 12-13. As for St. Anne, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-12 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: St. Anne has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Donovan struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other volleyball content.
