Cardinal Newman is 0-10 against King's Academy since September of 2018 but things could change on Thursday. The Cardinal Newman Crusaders will be staying on the road to face off against the King's Academy Lions at 6:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Last Monday, Cardinal Newman got the win against Palm Beach Central by a conclusive 3-0.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 25-23, 25-23.
Cardinal Newman can attribute much of their success to Shay Pfendler, who had eight digs.
Meanwhile, King's Academy had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They blew past Somerset College Prep Academy 3-0 on Tuesday. The victory was nothing new for the Lions as they're now sitting on ten straight.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant King's Academy was: they took every set by at least 16 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-9, 25-4, 25-5.
King's Academy was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least nine aces in four consecutive matchups.
Cardinal Newman is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. As for King's Academy, their record is now 16-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Cardinal Newman has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.6 aces per game. However, it's not like King's Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Cardinal Newman might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from King's Academy in their previous matchup back in September. Can Cardinal Newman avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
