Volleyball Game Preview: Fort Zumwalt South Bulldogs vs. Howell Vikings

The Fort Zumwalt South Bulldogs will square off against the Howell Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Fort Zumwalt South is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Missouri's top teams: Fort Zumwalt West, who was ranked 15th at the time (Fort Zumwalt South was ranked 12th). The Bulldogs fell just short of the Jaguars by a score of 3-2 last Monday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Fort Zumwalt South started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-9.

Fort Zumwalt South's defeat came about despite a quality game from Connor James, who had 13 digs and two assists.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Howell had no problem doing just that on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Eagles. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.

Howell's win bumped their record up to 15-16. As for Fort Zumwalt South, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 19-6-1.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's contest: Fort Zumwalt South has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Howell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Fort Zumwalt South skirted past Howell 3-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Vikings' Jackson Bradley, who had 26 digs and two assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Bulldogs still be able to contain Bradley? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.