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 squad 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 victory 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 win 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 matches.
Meanwhile, Branford made easy work of East Haven on Monday and carried off a 3-0 victory.
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.
It was another big night for Julianne Henkel, who had 18 digs, three kills, two aces, and two aces. Stella Andresen was another key player, getting eight aces and five kills.
Foran's win bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Branford, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a massive bump to their 4-5 record this season.
Thursday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant setters against one another: Nyah Boromei and Henkel. Boromei has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages has averaged 2.6 aces, 0.7 kills, and 0.7 kills. For her part, Henkel has averaged has averaged 3.8 aces, 2 kills, and 2 kills.
Everything went Foran's way against Branford in their previous meeting on September 5th, as Foran made off with a 3-0 victory. Does Foran have another victory up their sleeve, or will Branford turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
