Carmel-Santa Catalina volleyball

 Why wait a day.
 Let the hype of this battle of unbeatens in the Mission Trail Athletic League begin on the eve of this anticipated showdown.
 The Cougars 6-0 start in league is not a surprise, nor is opening the season with a school record 14 straight wins.
 This is a program that brought back arguably its four best players from last fall, including sophomore hitter Maria Santos, who is terrorizing opponents with that left-handed swing at the net.
 While I wouldn't call Carmel's 6-0 start in league surprising, it has faced an uphill battle with all of its matches being on the road this fall, while their gyms renovations continue.
 Carmel coach Israel Ricardez joked that Tuesday's match at Santa Catalina might be the closest his squad gets to a home match this year.
 Despite logging more travel miles than any other team, the Padres have yet to go five sets with any league opponent, knocking off King City in four last week.
 Megan Gonzalez has been sharp as a setter and dominating as a hitter for Carmel, leading the team in both categories while Hana Nystrom has evolved at the net with 124 kills.
 Santos has been overpowering in matches of significance for Santa Catalina while Saige Madden has given McKinley Fox another option at the net to feed the ball too.
 Defense has ignited the Cougars attack, anchored by three-year starting libero Olivia Satow and Madden on rotation.
 Madi Lombardi has been a vacuum cleaner in the back row for Carmel along with Nystrom. These are two teams that serve the ball well, as the Padres have over 100 aces.