Volleyball Preview: Foran Lions vs. Branford Hornets
Foran and Branford are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2016, but not for long. The Foran Lions will host the Branford Hornets at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Foran's favor as the team sits on eight straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Branford has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Foran will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Shelton, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Foran walked away with a 3-1 win over Shelton on Monday.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-19, 25-27, 25-23.
Foran got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Gracie Brooks out in front who had 16 digs, 15 kills, and 15 kills. Brooks is on a roll when it comes to kills, as she's now had ten or more in the last four games she's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Gaby Magnuson, who had 26 digs and three aces.
She wasn't the only good server: Foran was lethal from the service line and finished the game with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in ten consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, everything went Branford's way against East Haven on Monday as Branford made off with a 3-0 win.
Branford's not only won, but also showed off some consistency: keeping East Haven between 17 and 18 points across their sets. The match finished with set scores of 25-17, 25-17, 25-18.
Julianne Henkel continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, getting 18 digs, three kills, two aces, and two aces. Stella Andresen was another key player, getting eight aces and five kills.
Foran's victory bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Branford, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a massive bump to their 4-5 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Foran has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 11 aces per game. However, it's not like Branford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Foran took their win against Branford in their previous matchup on September 5th by a conclusive 3-0. Will Foran repeat their success, or does Branford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
