Volleyball Game Preview: Independence Patriots vs. Agua Fria Owls

The Independence Patriots will challenge the Agua Fria Owls at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Agua Fria will be up against a hot Independence squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. The Patriots put the hurt on Glendale with a sharp 3-0 victory on Monday.

The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Independence was: they took every set by at least ten points. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-10, 25-14, 25-15.

Meanwhile, Agua Fria got the win against Desert Sunrise on Tuesday by a conclusive 3-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Owls.

The final score came out to 25-8, 25-9, 25-20.

Independence better keep an eye on Raul Hernandez. He was instrumental in Agua Fria's win, getting ten digs and six aces. That's the most aces Hernandez has posted since back in March.

Agua Fria's win bumped their record up to 22-7. As for Independence, they pushed their record up to 19-13 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's match: Independence has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Agua Fria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Independence came out on top in a nail-biter against Agua Fria in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Owls have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.