Volleyball Game Preview: Stanley-Boyd Orioles vs. Barron Golden Bears

The Stanley-Boyd Orioles will take on the Barron Golden Bears on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.

Stanley-Boyd is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over Stratford. Winning may never get old, but the Orioles sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.

Meanwhile, Barron got the win against Northwestern on Saturday by a conclusive 3-0. The victory continues a trend for the Golden Bears in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won six in a row.

The match finished with set scores of 25-12, 25-12, 25-16.

Barron's win came from a few key players Stanley-Boyd will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Abby Miller, who had nine digs and three aces.

Barron was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Northwestern only served eight.

Stanley-Boyd's win bumped their record up to 41-4. As for Barron, their victory bumped their record up to 31-6.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Stanley-Boyd has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Barron struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Stanley-Boyd came out on top in a nail-biter against Barron when the teams last played back in October of 2022, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Orioles repeat their success, or do the Golden Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.