The Bedford Kicking Mules will be taking part in a tournament against the East Grand Rapids Pioneers at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. East Grand Rapids took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Bedford, who comes in off a win.
Bedford took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They won by a set and slipped past Saline 3-2.
Bedford took Saline into a fifth set where they got it done with a two-point win. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 16-25, 18-16.
Kiersten Soss
| 10/07/25 vs Saline | 13 |
| 10/02/25 @ St. Mary Catholic Central | 16 |
| 09/30/25 vs Huron | 11 |
Bedford can attribute much of their success to Kiersten Soss, who had 13 digs, and Lucy Monahan, who had 15 kills, three digs, and two blocks. Soss is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in each of the last three games she's played. Ellerie King also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assists of the season.
Bedford was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least nine aces in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, East Grand Rapids' good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They lost 3-0 to Catholic Central.
East Grand Rapids was held off the scoreboard, but that almost wasn't the case: they kept the first set very close. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 25-18, 25-21.
Bedford pushed their record up to 17-9 with the victory, which was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season. As for East Grand Rapids, their defeat dropped their record down to 24-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's match: Bedford has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.7 aces per game. However, it's not like East Grand Rapids struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bedford came out on top in a nail-biter against East Grand Rapids when the teams last played back in August of 2017, sneaking past 2-1. Do the Kicking Mules have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pioneers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
