The Minden Whippets will challenge the Lincoln Lutheran Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Minden is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Holdrege, who was ranked ninth at the time (Minden was ranked 19th). The Whippets took a 2-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Dusters on Saturday. The Whippets' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
While Minden was not able to make it on the board, they still kept things close, especially in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 25-20.
Despite the defeat, Minden saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Victoria Hansen had nine assists and six digs.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Lutheran had already won six in a row and they went ahead and made it seven on Monday. They put the hurt on the Rockets with a sharp 3-0 victory. The Warriors not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since September 9th (when they won 3-0).
While Lincoln Lutheran won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. The final score came out to 25-17, 25-3, 27-25.
Lincoln Lutheran's win bumped their record up to 15-3. As for Minden, their loss dropped their record down to 16-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Minden has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Lincoln Lutheran struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Minden came out on top in a nail-biter against Lincoln Lutheran in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Whippets repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
