Volleyball Preview: Masuk Panthers vs. Stratford Red Devils
Masuk and Stratford are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Masuk Panthers will be playing at home against the Stratford Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Masuk's favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while Stratford has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
It was a proper cat-fight when Masuk challenged Bethel on Saturday. Everything went Masuk's way against Bethel as Masuk made off with a 3-0 victory.
While Masuk won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the second set they played. The final score came out to 25-8, 25-23, 25-16.
Masuk was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Stratford didn't have quite enough to beat Brookfield last Tuesday and fell 3-2.
Stratford wouldn't go down easily and took Brookfield into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking 11-point loss. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 15-4.
Stratford's loss came about despite a quality game from Sophie DeLise, who had 13 digs.
Masuk's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Stratford, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Masuk has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 11.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Stratford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 18.3. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more volleyball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
