Crofton is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Monday. They will square off against the Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] Bobcats at 5:00 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Crofton was handed a three-set defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Ponca 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Warriors have posted since September 13th.
Plainview came into Tuesday's contest looking for another win against Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], but Kaylee Thiele wouldn't allow it. The Bobcats sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over the Pirates on Tuesday for which the team can thank Thiele, who had 26 digs and two aces. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 15 or more in each of the last 11 games she's played.
Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 20-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-12.
Crofton better focus on containing Leah Wiese and Sara Hemenway as the pair were huge in Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard]'s win. Wiese had nine digs and one assist, while Hemenway had four digs and two aces. Those four digs gave Hemenway a new career-high.
Crofton's win bumped their record up to 9-17. As for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-17 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's match: Crofton has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Crofton suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] in their previous matchup back in September. Can the Warriors avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
