The Bear River Bears will venture away from home to face off against the Mountain Crest Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Considering both teams were shutout in their prior games, the pair is probably coming into this one with something to prove.
Bear River came up short against Ridgeline on Tuesday, falling 3-0. The Bears haven't had much luck with the Riverhawks recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-11, 25-10, 25-16.
Meanwhile, Mountain Crest lost 3-0 to Sky View on Tuesday.
While Mountain Crest was kept off the board, it wasn't for a lack of trying: they cut into Sky View's winning margin in every set. The final score came out to 25-13, 25-16, 25-18.
Bear River will have to keep a close watch on Brogan Ritchie and Noah Estey, a pair of players who had a big impact on Mountain Crest's prior game. Ritchie had 14 digs and two assists, while Estey had eight digs and one block. That block marked the first that Estey has had this season.
Mountain Crest's loss dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Bear River, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Bear River hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 6.1 blocks per game. However, it's not like Mountain Crest struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.1 blocks. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bear River couldn't quite get it done against Mountain Crest when the teams last played back in April of 2025 as they fell 3-1. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
