After both having extra time off, the Coon Rapids Cardinals and the Maple Grove Crimson will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Coon Rapids is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Minnesota's top teams: Park Center, who was ranked sixth at the time (Coon Rapids was ranked fifth). The Cardinals walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Cardinals as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Coon Rapids had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 19-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-18.
Coon Rapids can attribute much of their success to Josh Kavanaugh, who had 13 digs.
Coon Rapids was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. That's the most aces they've posted since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Maple Grove, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They put the hurt on Andover with a sharp 3-0 victory on Wednesday. The Crimson not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since June 12, 2024 (when they won 3-0).
While Maple Grove won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-19, 25-19, 25-23.
The win got Coon Rapids back to even at 3-3. As for Maple Grove, the victory snapped their losing streak at four games and leaves them with a 6-4 record.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's game: Coon Rapids has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Maple Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more volleyball content.
