Volleyball Preview: Smith-Cotton Tigers vs. Eldon Mustangs
Smith-Cotton hasn't had much luck against Eldon recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Smith-Cotton Tigers will head out to square off against the Eldon Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Thursday, Smith-Cotton came up short against Capital City and fell 3-1. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-13, 25-19.
Despite the defeat, Smith-Cotton got top-tier performance from Piper Cantrell, who had 28 digs. Cantrell is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 16 or more in the last seven games she's played dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Smith-Cotton was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 13 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Eldon's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They took a 2-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Strafford.
Eldon may have fallen short, but they were sure consistent: they scored 17 points in every single set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-17.
Smith-Cotton's loss dropped their record down to 18-10-1. As for Eldon, their defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 21-8-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's matchup: Smith-Cotton has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Eldon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Smith-Cotton suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Eldon in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Can Smith-Cotton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
