Bishop O'Connell and St. Catherine are an even 3-3 against one another since November of 2015, but not for long. The Knights will be playing at home against the Saints at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Bishop O'Connell is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Virginia's top teams: Paul VI, who was ranked tenth at the time (Bishop O'Connell was ranked third). The Knights fell 3-1 to the Panthers on Thursday. It was the first time this season that the Knights let down their fans at home.
While Bishop O'Connell had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 20 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20.
Natalie Hobson
| 10/30/25 vs Paul VI | 32 |
| 10/28/25 vs Our Lady of Good Counsel | 30 |
| 10/24/25 vs Potomac School | 27 |
| 10/23/25 @ Bishop McNamara | 14 |
| 10/21/25 @ The Academy of the Holy Cross | 25 |
| + 7 more games |
Bishop O'Connell's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Caroline Semko, who had 15 digs and two aces, and Natalie Hobson, who had three aces and two blocks. Hobson has been hot for a while, having also posted 12 or more assists the last 12 times she's played.
Meanwhile, St. Catherine's suffered their biggest defeat since October 6th on Wednesday. They lost 3-0 to Collegiate. The Saints have struggled against the Cougars recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.
St. Catherine's was held off the scoreboard, but that almost wasn't the case: they kept the first set very close. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-15, 25-20.
St. Catherine's loss dropped their record down to 15-14. As for Bishop O'Connell, their defeat dropped their record down to 21-2.
Everything went Bishop O'Connell's way against St. Catherine's when the teams last played back in September, as Bishop O'Connell made off with a 3-0 victory. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
