The Sacred Heart Academy Sharks will face off against the Cheshire Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Sacred Heart Academy's favor as the team sits on 18 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Cheshire has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Sacred Heart Academy barely beat Shelton the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Sharks were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Gaels on Friday.
Sacred Heart Academy's got stronger as the match went on, holding Shelton to fewer and fewer points set over set. The final score came out to 25-19, 25-18, 25-13.
Sacred Heart Academy relied on the efforts of JJ Kirck, who had 14 digs and three assists, and Aliya Church, who had eight digs and four aces. That's the most aces Church has posted since back in September.
Meanwhile, Cheshire posted their closest win since September 22nd on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Shelton 2-1.
It was an exciting match in which no team won back-to-back sets, but at the end of the day Cheshire got the one that really mattered. The match finished with set scores of 25-15, 25-29, 25-15.
Sacred Heart Academy's victory bumped their record up to 16-1. As for Cheshire, their win bumped their record up to 12-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Sacred Heart Academy has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 14.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Cheshire struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13.3 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Sacred Heart Academy beat Cheshire 3-1 when the teams last played back in September. Will the Sharks repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
