After both having extra time off, the Columbus East Olympians and the Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Columbus East came into their game on Thursday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 3-0 to Roncalli. The Olympians haven't had much luck with the Royals recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
The match finished with set scores of 25-13, 25-10, 25-18.
Meanwhile, Franklin Community came up short against Columbus North on Thursday and fell 3-1. While the Grizzly Cubs didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bull Dogs 25-20 in the first set.
Franklin Community started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The final score came out to 20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-18.
Despite the loss, Franklin Community saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Nila Netter had 11 digs and three aces.
Columbus East's defeat dropped their record down to 11-18. As for Franklin Community, their loss dropped their record down to 22-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Columbus East has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Franklin Community struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Columbus East couldn't quite get it done against Franklin Community in their previous matchup back in August as they fell 3-1. Can the Olympians avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
