The Sutherland Sailors are taking a road trip to take on the Garden County Eagles on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Sutherland turned things around against South Loup on Saturday. They skirted past South Loup 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Sailors have posted since September 13th.
The match was a true back-and-forth as no team won consecutive sets, but in the end it was Sutherland who won the one that mattered. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 21-25, 25-14.
Garden County hadn't beaten Morrill on the road since October 2, 2021 but that history sure didn't bother them on Thursday. The Eagles had just enough and edged out the Lions 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Eagles have posted against the Lions since October 3, 2020.
Garden County wouldn't go down easily and took Morrill into a fifth set where they got it done with a two-point win. The match finished with set scores of 21-25, 25-10, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13.
Sutherland better keep an eye on Kenley Dehning. She was instrumental in Garden County's win, getting 30 digs and one assist. Those 30 digs gave Dehning a new career-high.
Garden County was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in three consecutive contests.
Sutherland's record now sits at 5-14. As for Garden County, their record is now 13-2.
Sutherland might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Garden County when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Sailors, Olivia Christiansen (who had 23 digs) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
