The Monache Marauders will face off against the El Diamante Miners at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Monache is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Redwood just ended the team's three-match winning streak on Thursday. They lost 3-0 to the Rangers.
While Monache ultimately came up short, they didn't go down without a fight: they scored at least 17 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-17.
Meanwhile, El Diamante came tearing into Thursday's contest with six straight wins , and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Pioneers as they made off with a 3-0 victory.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant El Diamante was: they took every set by at least 11 points. The final score came out to 25-14, 25-6, 25-14.
El Diamante had a senior duo take command as Diamond Palomo had 15 digs and three aces and Joscelyn Pena had 23 assists and nine digs. Pena has been hot, having posted 23 or more assists the last seven times she's played.
El Diamante was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in seven consecutive matches.
Monache's loss dropped their record down to 14-14-1. As for El Diamante, their win bumped their record up to 22-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's matchup: Monache has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.6 aces per game. However, it's not like El Diamante struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Monache couldn't quite get it done against El Diamante when the teams last played back in September as they fell 3-1. Will the Marauders have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
