The Vanguard School Coursers will take on the James Irwin Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. James Irwin took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on The Vanguard School, who comes in off a win.
On Thursday, The Vanguard School made easy work of La Junta and carried off a 3-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Coursers.
While The Vanguard School might've won, it sure wasn't easy: La Junta scored at least 19 points in every set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-19, 25-23, 25-22.
Ainsley Anderson
| 10/02/25 @ La Junta | 19 |
| 09/30/25 vs Manitou Springs | 14 |
| 09/27/25 @ Pueblo County | 15 |
| 09/25/25 @ Woodland Park | 19 |
| 09/19/25 @ Pikes Peak Christian | 17 |
| + 13 more games |
The Vanguard School's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ainsley Anderson, who had five digs and five aces. Anderson has been hot for a while, having also posted 12 or more assists the last 18 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Keilani Kaneakua, who had 11 digs.
They weren't the only good servers: The Vanguard School 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 every time they've taken the court this season.
James Irwin had taken Florence down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Thursday. The Jaguars fell 3-1 to the Huskies. The Jaguars have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
The 3-1 score doesn't really reflect how close the match was: every set was decided by three points or less. The final score came out to 25-22, 22-25, 28-26, 25-23.
The Vanguard School will need to focus on slowing down Lilliana Vanasse, one of several James Irwin players who made an impact when they last played. She had 35 digs and two aces. Alana Trujillo was another key player, getting 12 assists and seven digs.
James Irwin's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for The Vanguard School, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: The Vanguard School has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 12.2 aces per game. However, it's not like James Irwin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went The Vanguard School's way against James Irwin in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as The Vanguard School made off with a 3-0 victory. Will the Coursers repeat their success, or do the Jaguars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
