The Union Yellowjackets will venture away from home to square off against the St. Andrew's Episcopal Saints at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The last three games Union has played have been within one set, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Union is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: Newton County, who was ranked fourth at the time (Union was ranked 25th). The Yellowjackets fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 2-1 on Saturday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
In an exciting match in which no team claimed back-to-back wins, Union sadly wound up on the wrong side. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-16, 23-25, 15-10.
Meanwhile, St. Andrew's Episcopal came up short against Pisgah on Monday and fell 3-1.
The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16.
Union will have to keep a close watch on Abby Ireland and Ava Croft, a pair of players who had a big impact on St. Andrew's Episcopal's prior game. Ireland had 17 digs, while Croft had 18 kills, nine digs, and two aces. Croft has been hot recently, having posted 12 or more kills the last three times she's played. Addie LaRose also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
St. Andrew's Episcopal's loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 4-9. As for Union, their defeat dropped their record down to 24-10.
Union took their victory against St. Andrew's Episcopal in their previous matchup on September 11th by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Yellowjackets since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
