Waterville-Elysian-Morristown vs. Bethlehem Academy 
7:15 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 7

The Cardinals and Buccaneers are expected to be the top two teams in the Gopher Conference again this fall, and this match should serve as a great springboard for the winner into the conference schedule.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (1-1) was upended in its most recent match by Kenyon-Wanamingo and hopes to get on track with three straight road matches over the next eight days. The middle match may be the toughest, though, with No. 4-1A Bethlehem Academy (0-2) playing host. Alexis Morsching led the No. 9-1A Bucs with 22 digs and added seven kills against the Knights, while Trista Hering led with eight kills.

Cardinals coach Franz Boelter has tested his team with an extremely tough schedule, which has resulted in back-to-back losses to Lakeville North and Marshall to open the year. Yet, the Cardinals gave Marshall all it could handle in a five-set loss. Megan Donahue led the Cardinals with 13 kills and Haley Lang had 18 digs against Marshall, while eighth-grade right side hitter Ellie Cohen had moments and could be the next young star for Boelter.