After both having extra time off, the Lake Central Indians and the Crown Point Bulldogs will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
On Thursday, Lake Central made easy work of La Porte and carried off a 3-0 victory.
While Lake Central won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. The final score came out to 25-16, 25-19, 29-27.
Lake Central's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Brooklyn Barth, who had 15 digs and four assists. Another player making a difference was Isabella Steliga, who had 25 assists and six digs.
If Michigan City wanted to avenge their loss from the last time they played Crown Point, they should've done a better job of containing Elisabetta Bedoy. The Bulldogs blew past the Wolves 3-0 on Thursday for which the team can thank Bedoy, who had five digs and four aces. She has been hot recently, having also posted 14 or more assists the last four times she's played.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Crown Point took every set by at least 15 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-10, 25-10, 25-8.
Crown Point's win came from a few key players Lake Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cailin Duncan, who had 17 assists and three aces. Hayden Klimowicz was another key player, getting five digs and five aces.
Crown Point was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 15 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in six consecutive matches.
Lake Central's record now sits at 19-10. As for Crown Point, their record is now 26-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Lake Central has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Crown Point struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lake Central came up short against Crown Point when the teams last played back in September, falling 3-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Bulldogs' Bella Del Real, who had 27 digs and three assists. Now that the Indians know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
