Volleyball Preview: Newton Falls Tigers vs. Mathews Mustangs
After three games on the road, Newton Falls is heading back home. After both having extra time off, they and the Mathews Mustangs will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Newton Falls will be strutting in after a win while Mathews will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Thursday, Newton Falls beat Windham 3-1.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-9, 19-25, 25-17, 25-13.
Torrie Fanton was nothing short of spectacular: she had 12 digs and four aces. She is also on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 12 or more in the last 17 games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Madalyn Knight, who had seven digs and four aces.
She wasn't the only good server: Newton Falls was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 19 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least 11 aces in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Mathews was not able to break out of their rough patch last Tuesday as the team picked up their tenth straight loss. They fell 3-1 to McKinley. While the Mustangs didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Red Dragons 25-18 in the first set.
Mathews started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 18-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-13.
The victory got Newton Falls back to even at 11-11. As for Mathews, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-19.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's match: Newton Falls has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Mathews struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Newton Falls beat Mathews 3-1 when the teams last played back in October of 2021. Will Newton Falls repeat their success, or does Mathews have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
