Volleyball Game Preview: Edwardsville Tigers vs. Belleville East Lancers

Edwardsville is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Belleville East is on an 18-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Tigers will host the Lancers at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Thursday, Edwardsville earned a 2-0 victory over Belleville West.

While Edwardsville might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Belleville West scored at least 20 points in every set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 25-20.

Meanwhile, Belleville East faced O'Fallon in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Lancers came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 2-0. The Lancers haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Belleville East not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept O'Fallon to exactly 20 points across their sets. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-20.

Edwardsville has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 22-11 record this season. As for Belleville East, their victory bumped their record up to 23-7.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's game: Edwardsville has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 4.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Belleville East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.7 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Edwardsville couldn't quite get it done against Belleville East when the teams last played back in April as they fell 2-0. Will the Tigers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.