After both having extra time off, the Racine Lutheran Crusaders and the Clinton Cougars will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Racine Lutheran came into their game on Tuesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against The Prairie School, falling 3-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Crusaders have suffered against the Hawks since September 23, 2021.
While Racine Lutheran was not able to win a set, they sure kept things interesting: every set was decided by three points or less. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-23, 25-22.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Sophia Schatzman, who had 11 digs. The team also got some help courtesy of Evie Gamroth, who had five digs and two aces.
Meanwhile, Clinton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were a single set away from ending the streak, but they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Big Foot.
Clinton took a 2-1 lead headed into the fourth set, but sadly they lost the next two. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-11, 15-8.
Like Racine Lutheran, Clinton lost despite seeing results from several players. Kiana Stahl led the charge by getting 17 digs and 15 assists. Maryn Waite was another key player, getting eight digs and three aces.
Racine Lutheran's loss dropped their record down to 14-14. As for Clinton, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-18.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Racine Lutheran has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Clinton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Racine Lutheran skirted past Clinton 2-1 in their previous meeting last Saturday. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
