After both having extra time off, Pope John Paul II and the Bayard Rustin Golden Knights will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Pope John Paul II is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Pennsylvania's top teams: Spring-Ford, who was ranked third at the time (Pope John Paul II was ranked tenth). Pope John Paul II fell 3-1 to Spring-Ford last Thursday. The defeat continues a trend for Pope John Paul II in their meetings with Spring-Ford: they've now lost three in a row.
Meanwhile, Bayard Rustin had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They put the hurt on Merion Mercy Academy with a sharp 3-0 win on Thursday. The victory was nothing new for the Golden Knights as they're now sitting on seven straight.
The match came down to the wire multiple times:two sets needed extra rallies to declare a winner. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 27-25, 27-25, 25-12.
Pope John Paul II's loss dropped their record down to 10-3. As for Bayard Rustin, their win bumped their record up to 15-6.
Pope John Paul II took their victory against Bayard Rustin in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pope John Paul II since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
