Volleyball Game Preview: Harvard-Westlake Wolverines vs. Taft Toreadors

The Harvard-Westlake Wolverines will head out on the road to challenge the Taft Toreadors at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The last five games Harvard-Westlake has played have been within one set, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Harvard-Westlake and St. Francis meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Tuesday. Harvard-Westlake fell just short of St. Francis by a score of 3-2. While the Wolverines didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Golden Knights 25-16 in the first set.

Harvard-Westlake started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The final score came out to 16-25, 12-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-8.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Taft and Granada Hills Charter meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Wednesday. Taft came up short against Granada Hills Charter, falling 3-0.

Taft was held off the scoreboard, but that almost wasn't the case: they kept the first set very close. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 25-16, 25-16.

Harvard-Westlake's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 9-5. As for Taft, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-9 record this season.