Game of the Week
Wharton at Freedom volleyball, Thursday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Can you call a series where one team has won 24 straight games, and 32 of the last 33 sets played against the other team, a rivalry?
Well, just try and stop us.
This week, Wharton hosts Freedom in what is most likely the one game the Patriots circle on the calendar. Most years, that calendar is then ripped off the wall and thrown angrily in the garbage. Sometimes it is set on fire.
We’d like to think this year’s match may actually be competitive. Ignoring the fact that gas was just $2.79 a gallon on Oct. 2, 2007, the last time Freedom beat Wharton at volleyball, on paper the Patriots have one of their strongest squads in years. They return setter Katie Kurtz, they have good size up with Elle Cole, Naya Daniels and Launa Law, the defense is solid and they have nearly everyone back from last year’s playoff team.
They snapped a three-game losing streak last week, and were 4-3 heading into a weekend tournament. They have yet to prove they can beat a better-than-average team. But the pieces seem to be there.
On paper.
Wharton, meanwhile, is 10-2 heading into last week’s tournament, and looked OK on paper, but in reality, are much, much better. Teams have struggled to stop hitter Amia Kennerdy, who has 144 kills, setter Zoe Ananga has been great and you can just feel coach Eric Barber deftly bringing along his younger players as the Wildcats march towards a 13th straight playoff berth.
Three things the Patriots will have to overcome: (1) history, which has created a mindset even the best Patriot teams have been unable to overcome and was not helped by a preseason loss to the Wildcats; (2) Kennerdy is a powerhouse, but she’s not alone up front (3) the Wildcats have played twice as many matches as Freedom, against a tougher schedule. They are already tested.
Player of the Week
Zoe Ananga, Wharton, setter: Statistically, Ananga is on pace to have one of the best all-around seasons in recent memory. The floor general already had 313 assists through 12 matches. At an average of 26 per match, Ananga could approach Tyler Sroufe’s school record of 745 assists (in 27 matches) set in 2024. Sroufe averaged 27.5 assists per match, and 8.9 per set; Ananga’s numbers are 26 and 8.5. But Ananga has also proven to be an all-around standout, with 27 aces, 16 blocks and 82 digs.
Numbers of the Week
3 — pick 6s thrown by Freedom quarterbacks last week.
157 — points the Freedom football has been outscored by their last three games. That’s not great, and not sure if this qualifies as a silver lining, but the Patriots were outscored by 161 in a three-game stretch last year (Jefferson, Spoto, Zephyrhills) and by 158 points during three games in 2023 (Armwood, Wharton, Spoto). And in 2022, the Patriots were outscored by 185 in one three-game stretch and 190 in another. It’s tough over on Commerce Park Blvd., but it’s been tougher.
18 — times in Wharton volleyball’s 24-game winning streak against Freedom that the Wildcats did not drop a set.
12.2 — yards per carry averaged by King sophomore Tyeson Harrison the last two weeks, in rushing for 172 yards against Leto and 121 against Strawberry Crest.