Liberty Ranch was the 2-0 winner over Elk Grove when they last played one another back in September of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Hawks fell just short of the Thundering Herd by a score of 3-2 on Thursday. The Hawks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
In a back-and-forth that saw neither team win consecutive sets, Liberty Ranch sadly dropped the once that decided the match. The final score came out to 25-10, 22-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-7.
Haley Smith paced Liberty Ranch's offense, picking up 16 kills. Smith were helped by Maritza Arevalo and Gabriela Garcia, who contributed 17 assists each. Smith also made an impact serving: she shared the team lead in aces with Daphne Najar, racking up three apiece.
Leading Elk Grove to victory were Audrey Thao and Cloe Hocker. Thao had 12 digs and two aces, while Hocker had ten kills, four digs, and three aces. Hocker is on a roll when it comes to kills, as she's now had five or more in each of the last 12 games she's played dating back to last season.
Liberty Ranch's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Elk Grove, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. After both having extra time off, Liberty Ranch and Linden will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Elk Grove, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Kennedy at 6:30 p.m. on the 9th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
