The Rittman Indians will venture away from home to take on the Open Door Christian Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Rittman barely beat Lake Ridge Academy the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Indians put the hurt on the Royals with a sharp 3-0 win on Thursday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Indians.
One reason for the win was Rittman's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-14, 25-6.
Mackenzie Beltz
| 10/16/25 vs Lake Ridge Academy | 27 |
| 10/08/25 vs Chippewa | 32 |
| 10/07/25 @ Dalton | 27 |
| 10/04/25 vs Plymouth | 26 |
| 10/02/25 vs Waynedale | 33 |
| + 18 more games |
Rittman can attribute much of their success to Mackenzie Beltz, who had four digs and four aces, and Alexis Olinger, who had eight kills and one block. Beltz is also on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 15 or more in each of the last 23 games she's played dating back to last season.
They weren't the only good servers: Rittman was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 15 aces. That's the most aces they've posted in their last seven matchups.
Meanwhile, Open Door Christian got the win against Bloomfield on Thursday by a conclusive 3-0.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Open Door Christian took every set by at least 15 points. The final score came out to 25-10, 25-10, 25-8.
Open Door Christian's win came from a few key players Rittman will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ellie Pruitt, who had eight aces and three digs. That's the most aces she has posted since back in October of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Briella Bendik, who had seven digs and six aces.
Rittman's record now sits at 10-12. As for Open Door Christian, their record is now 19-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Rittman has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Open Door Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Rittman couldn't quite get it done against Open Door Christian in their previous meeting back in August of 2019 as they fell 2-0. Can the Indians avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
