Volleyball Preview: Utica Redskins vs. Lakewood Lancers
The Utica Redskins's homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the Lakewood Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
On Tuesday, Utica didn't have quite enough to beat Johnstown-Monroe and fell 3-2. The loss continues a trend for the Redskins in their matchups with the Johnnies: they've now lost seven in a row.
The 3-2 score doesn't really reflect how close the match was: every set was decided by two points or less. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 16-14.
Utica's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Callie Baker, who had 16 digs and two aces, and Madison Yates, who had 16 digs. That's the most aces Baker has posted in her last eight contests.
Even though they lost, Utica was lethal from the service line and finished the game with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Lakewood came up short against Licking Heights on Thursday and fell 3-1. The Lancers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Lakewood started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 21-25, 25-15, 26-24, 25-19.
Keely Cramblitt put forth a good effort for the losing side as she had 15 digs.
Utica's loss dropped their record down to 8-8. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Utica has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 9.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Lakewood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
