Paul VI hasn't had much luck against St. John recently, but that could start to change on Sunday. The Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cadets at 6:00 p.m. Paul VI is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last six games.
Paul VI is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Virginia's top teams: Bishop O'Connell, who was ranked third at the time (Paul VI was ranked 12th). The Panthers walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Knights on Thursday.
The win didn't come easy: Bishop O'Connell scored at least 20 points in every set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20.
Paul VI found their leader in sophomore Amanda Dadio, who had 12 digs and two aces.
Meanwhile, St. John's hadn't done well against The Academy of the Holy Cross recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Cadets had just enough and edged out the Tartans 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cadets have posted since September 6th.
If you add up the scores from across all five sets (104-102) St. John's actually scored fewer points, but in the end it didn't matter. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 13-25, 17-15.
Paul VI's win bumped their record up to 24-4. As for St. John's, their victory bumped their record up to 17-9.
Paul VI took their win against St. John's when the teams last played back in October by a conclusive 3-0 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Cadets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
