Volleyball Preview: Xavier College Prep Gators vs. Corona del Sol Aztecs
Xavier College Prep has won seven straight games at home, while Corona del Sol has won seven straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Xavier College Prep Gators will square off against the Corona del Sol Aztecs at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Xavier College Prep is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Sunnyslope, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Xavier College Prep was ranked first). Xavier College Prep sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Sunnyslope on Wednesday.
The match was a true back-and-forth as no team won consecutive sets, but in the end it was Xavier College Prep who won the one that mattered. The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7.
Olivia Lenz was a one-man wrecking crew for Xavier College Prep as she had 15 digs and three aces.
She wasn't the only good server: Xavier College Prep 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 five aces in nine consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, everything went Corona del Sol's way against Millennium on Wednesday as Corona del Sol made off with a 3-0 victory.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 25-22, 25-21.
Corona del Sol found their leader in underclassman Adelyn Chang, who had 14 digs and 29 assists. Chang has been hot recently, having posted 12 or more assists the last 24 times she's played.
Xavier College Prep's win bumped their record up to 23-3. As for Corona del Sol, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 30-4 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Xavier College Prep hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 7.1 blocks per game. It's a different story for Corona del Sol, though, as they've been averaging only 1.4. Given Xavier College Prep's sizable advantage in that area, Corona del Sol will need to find a way to close that gap.
Xavier College Prep took their victory against Corona del Sol in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 3-0. Does Xavier College Prep have another victory up their sleeve, or will Corona del Sol turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
