The Gretna East Griffins will face off against the Standing Bear Grizzlies at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Gretna East turned things around against Crete on Tuesday. They blew past the Cardinals 3-0. The Griffins not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since September 25th (when they won 3-0).
Gretna East was especially dominant in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 25-15, 25-17, 25-21.
Maci Falcone
| 10/21/25 @ Crete | 23 |
| 10/16/25 @ Bennington | 26 |
| 10/11/25 vs Elkhorn | 27 |
| 10/11/25 vs Bennington | 20 |
| 10/11/25 vs Blair | 23 |
| + 11 more games |
Gretna East relied on the efforts of Maci Falcone, who had 23 assists and eight digs, and Brooklyn Beethe, who had 11 digs and one assist. Falcone is on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 15 or more in each of the last 16 games she's played.
Meanwhile, Standing Bear was able to grind out a solid win over Beatrice on Tuesday, taking the game 3-1.
Standing Bear was dominant in they sets they won, taking each by at least ten points. The final score came out to 25-11, 17-25, 25-15, 25-15.
Gretna East better focus on containing Reese Pedersen and Lindyn Stutzman as the pair were huge in Standing Bear's win. Pedersen had 14 digs and three aces, while Stutzman had 12 digs and three aces. What's more, Stutzman posted two kills, the most she's had since back in September.
Standing Bear was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 15 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in six consecutive matches.
Gretna East's victory bumped their record up to 11-19. As for Standing Bear, their win bumped their record up to 17-15.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Gretna East has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Standing Bear struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
