Hickman has gone 8-2 against Battle recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:00 p.m. Battle took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Hickman, who comes in off a win.
Last Wednesday, Hickman beat Father Tolton 3-1.
While Hickman might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Father Tolton scored at least 20 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 13-25, 25-20.
Kaylie Brinkley
| 10/15/25 @ Father Tolton | 8 |
| 10/14/25 @ Eldon | 5 |
| 10/11/25 vs Willard | 1 |
| 10/11/25 vs Lebanon | 3 |
| 10/11/25 vs Marshfield | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Hickman's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Alaina Young, who had 11 digs and three assists, and Kaylie Brinkley, who had 19 digs, eight kills, and three aces. That's the most kills Brinkley has posted over her last seven matches. Another player making a difference was Jazleen Rosas-Robinson, who had nine digs.
They weren't the only good servers: Hickman was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. They are 5-1 when they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, Battle came up short against Rock Bridge on Tuesday and fell 3-1. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
While Battle had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 18 points in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21.
Hickman will have to keep a close watch on Ellie Boyer and Lauren Holmgren, a pair of players who had a big impact on Battle's prior game. Boyer had 17 digs and four assists, while Holmgren had 18 assists and ten digs. Mariana Flores-Hernandez also deserves some recognition as she served her first aces of the season.
Hickman's victory bumped their record up to 11-15-3. As for Battle, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-15-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Hickman has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Battle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Hickman's way against Battle in their previous meeting back in September, as Hickman made off with a 3-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Kewpies since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
