The Diamond Bar Brahmas will face off against the Ayala Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Diamond Bar came up short against Glendora on Monday, falling 3-0. The Brahmas have struggled against the Tartans recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive lost matchup.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-19, 25-15, 25-21.
Ayala won the last time they faced Walnut and Emma Nunez did her part to make sure it happened again. The Bulldogs came out on top against the Mustangs by a score of 3-1 on Monday with plenty of help from Nunez, who had 61 digs and two aces. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 12.8 digs per game.
The final score came out to 25-14, 25-27, 25-8, 25-18.
Ayala's win came from a few key players Diamond Bar will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Angelina Mercado, who had 31 digs, 14 kills, and three blocks. That's the most blocks she has posted since back in September. Another player making a difference was Miki Kiuchi, who had 13 digs and three aces.
Ayala was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 13 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in three consecutive contests.
Diamond Bar's defeat dropped their record down to 21-7. As for Ayala, their victory bumped their record up to 14-12.
Diamond Bar skirted past Ayala 3-2 when the teams last played two weeks ago. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mercado, who had 18 kills, 11 digs, and two aces. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Brahmas still be able to contain Mercado? There's only one way to find out.
