On Tuesday, Maple Grove faced St. Michael-Albertville in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Maple Grove Crimson fell 3-1 to the St. Michael-Albertville Knights. The Crimson were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Knights apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in October of 2023.
Maple Grove 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 18-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23.
Despite the loss, Maple Grove saw an underclassman step up: Mckinley Hardle had 15 digs.
Even though they lost, Maple Grove was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 12 aces. That's the most aces they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Maple Grove's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-10. As for St. Michael-Albertville, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 22-8 record this season.
Maple Grove will challenge Coon Rapids at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Maple Grove is facing Coon Rapids at the right time seeing as Coon Rapids is stuck on a 16-game losing streak. As for St. Michael-Albertville, they will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against Buffalo at 7:00 p.m. The last four games Buffalo has played have been within one set, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
