The Norwich Free Academy Wildcats will challenge the Warde Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Norwich Free Academy will be strutting in after a win while Warde will be coming in after a defeat.
Norwich Free Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Hall 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Wildcats have posted since October 8th.
Norwich Free Academy had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 18-25, 24-26, 25-13, 25-22, 16-14.
Meanwhile, Warde entered their matchup against Trumbull two weeks ago without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Mustangs fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 3-2. Mustangs fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team has lost against the Eagles since two weeks ago.
Warde wouldn't go down easily and took Trumbull into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking four-point loss. The match finished with set scores of 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11.
Norwich Free Academy's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-10. As for Warde, their loss dropped their record down to 18-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Norwich Free Academy has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Warde struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Norwich Free Academy might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Warde in their previous matchup back in September. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
