The Dr. Joaquin Garcia Bulldogs will challenge the Atlantic Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Dr. Joaquin Garcia is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Coconut Creek with a sharp 3-0 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Bulldogs, who have now won three matches in a row.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Dr. Joaquin Garcia took every set by at least 20 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-5, 25-5, 25-4.
Dr. Joaquin Garcia relied on the efforts of Sophia Hagerty, who had five aces and two assists, and Sophia Bui, who had seven assists and four aces. That's the most aces Hagerty has posted since back in September.
They weren't the only good servers: Dr. Joaquin Garcia was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 26 aces. That's the most aces they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Atlantic got the win against Northeast on Tuesday by a conclusive 3-0.
Atlantic was especially dominant in the first set. The final score came out to 25-8, 25-19, 25-21.
Dr. Joaquin Garcia better keep an eye on Grace Vega. She was instrumental in Atlantic's win, getting eight aces. Colette Simon was another key player, getting eight kills, four aces, and one block.
Atlantic's win bumped their record up to 6-9. As for Dr. Joaquin Garcia, their victory bumped their record up to 13-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Dr. Joaquin Garcia has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Atlantic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Dr. Joaquin Garcia's way against Atlantic in their previous meeting back in August of 2023, as Dr. Joaquin Garcia made off with a 3-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
