The Eldon Mustangs will challenge the Willard Tigers at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Eldon made easy work of Father Tolton and carried off a 3-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
While Eldon won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the second set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 26-24, 25-16.
Eldon can attribute much of their success to Sarah Tompkins, who had 14 digs and one assist.
Eldon was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. They are 4-1 when they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, Willard earned a 3-1 victory over Glendale on Thursday.
The win didn't come easy: Glendale scored at least 20 points in every set. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22.
Willard's win came from a few key players Eldon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ashlyn Hurd, who had nine digs and three aces. That's the most digs she has posted over her last seven matches. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Simpson, who had 13 digs and three aces.
Eldon's record now sits at 8-6. As for Willard, their record is now 11-5-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's matchup: Eldon has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Willard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Eldon came up short against Willard in their previous matchup back in September of 2024, falling 2-0. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
