Central hasn't had much luck against Buchanan recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. Central and Buchanan will meet for a tough Bear Battle. Buchanan took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Central, who comes in off a win.
Central will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Clovis West, who they had gone 0-8 against in their eight prior meetings. Central walked away with a 3-1 victory over Clovis West on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Grizzlies.
Central had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 26-24.
Meanwhile, Buchanan entered their contest against Clovis on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Buchanan fell 3-1 to Clovis. The Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Buchanan was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Clovis work for it, especially in the first set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 27-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21.
Central will need to focus on slowing down John Soldani, one of several Buchanan players who made an impact when they last played. He had 23 digs and two assists. That's the most digs Soldani has posted since back in February of 2024. Carlos Jay was another key player, getting 20 assists and four digs.
Central pushed their record up to 13-5 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Buchanan, their loss dropped their record down to 13-11.
Central might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Buchanan when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
