The Langston Hughes Panthers will face off against the South Cobb Eagles at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Langston Hughes took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Cristo Rey Atlanta, sneaking past 3-2.
Langston Hughes had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 22-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 15-9.
Meanwhile, South Cobb was able to grind out a solid win over Washington on Tuesday, taking the game 2-0. The victory continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won four in a row.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: South Cobb took both sets by at least 17 points. The final score came out to 25-8, 25-8.
Langston Hughes better keep an eye on Nikaiya Wilson. She was instrumental in South Cobb's win, getting six aces. Those six aces gave Wilson a new career-high.
South Cobb's win bumped their record up to 9-13. As for Langston Hughes, their victory bumped their record up to 10-21.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Langston Hughes has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.2 aces per game. However, it's not like South Cobb struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Langston Hughes was able to grind out a solid win over South Cobb in their previous matchup back in September of 2015, winning 2-0. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
