Arizona Lutheran Academy is on a four-game streak of home losses, and Casa Grande a three-game streak of away losses. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Friday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 9:00 a.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Wednesday, Arizona Lutheran Academy came up short against Phoenix Country Day and fell 3-1. While the Coyotes didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Eagles 25-20 in the first set.
Arizona Lutheran Academy started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 26-24.
Despite the defeat, Arizona Lutheran Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Elsa Wiechmann had eight digs and three aces.
Meanwhile, Casa Grande also suffered a loss in their last game, falling to Vista Grande by a score of 3-1.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16.
Despite the loss, Casa Grande saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Layla Egan had nine digs and two assists.
Casa Grande's defeat dropped their record down to 5-14. As for Arizona Lutheran Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 7-16.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Arizona Lutheran Academy has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Casa Grande struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Arizona Lutheran Academy was able to grind out a solid win over Casa Grande when the teams last played back in October of 2019, winning 2-0. Will the Coyotes repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
