The Shelton Bulldogs will face off against the Tri County Northeast Wolfpack at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Shelton made easy work of Kenesaw and carried off a 3-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Blue Devils: they've now won four in a row.
Shelton was especially dominant in the second set. The final score came out to 25-19, 25-14, 25-19.
Gracie Willis was the offensive standout of the matchup as she had 12 digs and two aces. That's the most aces she has posted since back in September.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Tri County Northeast had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Trojans 3-2.
Tri County Northeast took Cedar Catholic into a fifth set where they got it done with a six-point win. The match finished with set scores of 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 15-9.
Shelton better focus on containing Emily Mitchell and Joslyn Mackling as the pair were huge in Tri County Northeast's win. Mitchell had 11 digs and one assist, while Mackling had 20 digs and 18 kills. Mackling is crushing it when it comes to kills: she's had at least six every time she's taken the court this season.
Tri County Northeast's win bumped their record up to 24-5. As for Shelton, their victory bumped their record up to 25-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's match: Shelton has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Tri County Northeast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
