Volleyball Preview: Ursuline Koalas vs. Dobbs Ferry Eagles
The Ursuline Koalas are on the road again on Thursday to play the Dobbs Ferry Eagles at 4:30 p.m.
Last Friday, Ursuline didn't have quite enough to beat Ketcham and fell 3-2. While the Koalas didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Indians 26-24 in the first set.
Ursuline actually scored more points across those five sets (116-112), but sadly they still had to settle for second. The match finished with set scores of 24-26, 16-25, 28-26, 29-27, 15-12.
Despite the loss, Ursuline got top-tier performance from Catherine Hearle, who had 29 digs and four aces. Those four aces gave Hearle a new career-high.
She wasn't the only good server: Ursuline was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 17 aces. That's the most aces they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Dobbs Ferry came tearing into Wednesday's match with four straight wins and they left with even more momentum. They had just enough and edged the Falcons out 3-2.
Dobbs Ferry had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 23-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-9, 15-4.
Taylor Denike continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, getting 14 kills, 12 aces, five digs, and a block. She is on a roll when it comes to kills, as she's now had seven or more in the last eight games she's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Naia Neuman, who had seven digs and two aces.
Ursuline now has a losing record at 11-12. As for Dobbs Ferry, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Ursuline has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Dobbs Ferry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 16.4. 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
