The Cardinal Newman Crusaders will square off against the American Heritage Stallions at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
On Saturday, Cardinal Newman didn't have quite enough to beat Central and fell 2-1. The Crusaders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
In a back-and-forth that saw neither team win consecutive sets, Cardinal Newman sadly dropped the once that decided the match. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 21-25, 15-11.
Adriana Hinds put forth a good effort for the losing side as she had 13 digs.
Meanwhile, American Heritage beat Suncoast 3-1 on Wednesday.
The final score came out to 25-18, 25-16, 14-25, 25-18.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead American Heritage to victory, but perhaps none more so than Rachel Miller, who had five kills and 11 assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Grace Reilly, who had 14 digs.
American Heritage was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 16 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in five consecutive contests.
Cardinal Newman's defeat dropped their record down to 11-6. As for American Heritage, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's matchup: Cardinal Newman has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 7.6 aces per game. However, it's not like American Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.6. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Cardinal Newman beat American Heritage 3-1 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was American Heritage's Daniela Staton, who had 25 digs and two aces. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Cardinal Newman still be able to contain Staton? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
