The Cardinal Newman Crusaders will face off against the Seminole Ridge Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
On Tuesday, Cardinal Newman made easy work of Lake Worth Christian and carried off a 3-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Crusaders in their matchups with the Defenders: they've now won three in a row.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-14, 25-16, 25-11.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Seminole Ridge, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. Everything went their way against Royal Palm Beach on Wednesday as they made off with a 3-0 win. The Hawks not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since September 17th (when they won 3-0).
One reason for the win was Seminole Ridge's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-14.
Cardinal Newman better focus on containing Ivanna Sierra and Emma Ginther as the pair were huge in Seminole Ridge's win. Sierra had 16 assists and nine digs, while Ginther had ten digs and two assists. Those nine digs gave Sierra a new career-high.
Cardinal Newman's victory bumped their record up to 19-3. As for Seminole Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 10-13.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Cardinal Newman has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Seminole Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.3 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Cardinal Newman's way against Seminole Ridge when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as Cardinal Newman made off with a 3-0 victory. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
