The Coudersport Falcons will head out on the road to take on the Wellsboro Hornets at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
On Wednesday, Coudersport made easy work of Smethport and carried off a 3-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Falcons.
Coudersport never let Smethport on the board, but things got pretty close in the third set. The final score came out to 25-14, 25-16, 25-23.
Laney Stimaker went supernova, getting 11 digs, eight kills, and two aces.
They weren't the only good servers: Coudersport was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 24 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in seven consecutive matchups.
Wellsboro not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since September 2nd (when they won 3-0). They put the hurt on North Penn-Liberty with a sharp 3-0 victory. The Hornets have beaten the Mountie the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Mountie has come to flipping the script.
The win didn't come easy: North Penn-Liberty scored at least 18 points in every set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 25-18, 25-19.
Wellsboro's win came from a few key players Coudersport will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Maddy Cruttenden, who had 19 digs and three assists. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in each of the last eight games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Taylor Main, who had 14 digs and 14 assists.
Coudersport's record is now 8-3. As for Wellsboro, their record now sits at 9-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's match: Coudersport has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 13.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Wellsboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging 12.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Coudersport came out on top in a nail-biter against Wellsboro when the teams last played back in September of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Falcons since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
