For the first time this season, Maranatha will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Thursday. They will be playing in front of their home fans against the Village Christian Crusaders at 5:15 p.m. Maranatha will be strutting in after a victory while Village Christian will be coming in after a defeat.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Maranatha turned things around against Waverly on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Ravens with a sharp 3-0 win. The Minutemen not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 17, 2024.
The final score came out to 25-11, 25-15, 25-20.
Maranatha's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Blake O'Brien, who had nine digs and four aces. That's the most aces O'Brien has posted since back in March of 2024. Zeke Lo also deserves some recognition as he had his first block of the season.
Meanwhile, Village Christian came up short against Canyon on Tuesday and fell 3-1. While the Crusaders didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Cowboys 25-21 in the first set.
Village Christian started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-19.
Village Christian's defeat was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Maranatha, their victory bumped their record up to 2-5.
Maranatha suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Village Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can Maranatha avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
