Volleyball Preview: Lompoc Braves vs. Santa Maria Saints
Lompoc is 9-1 against Santa Maria since September of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 6:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Lompoc is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Morro Bay just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of the Pirates by a score of 3-2. While the Braves didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Pirates 25-22 in the first set.
Lompoc started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-6.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Analise Vargas, who had 13 digs, nine aces, and three kills. Those nine aces gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Grace Day, who had 24 digs and four aces.
Even though they lost, Lompoc kept the net locked down and finished the game with 26 blocks. That's the most blocks they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Santa Maria was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their 16th straight loss. They fell just short of Orcutt Academy by a score of 3-2. While the Saints didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Spartans 25-20 in the first set.
Santa Maria took a 2-1 lead headed into the fourth set, but sadly they lost the next two. The match finished with set scores of 20-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-16, 15-10.
Lompoc's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-11. As for Santa Maria, their loss dropped their record down to 1-18.
Lompoc took their victory against Santa Maria in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a conclusive 3-0. Does Lompoc have another victory up their sleeve, or will Santa Maria turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
