Volleyball Game Preview: Mt. Zion Braves vs. Taylorville Tornadoes

Mt. Zion hasn't had much luck against Taylorville recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Braves will host the Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Mt. Zion sitting on three straight wins and Taylorville on nine.

Mt. Zion is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against Civic Memorial by a score of 2-0.

Mt. Zion not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Civic Memorial to exactly 17 points across their sets. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-17.

Addy Rotz and Catelyn Crafton were among the main playmakers for Mt. Zion as the former had ten digs and the latter had six digs.

Taylorville won the last time they faced Highland and Alayna Vincent did her part to make sure it happened again. The Tornadoes came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday with plenty of help from Vincent, who had eight kills, four digs, and three aces. She has been hot, having posted five or more kills the last five times she's played.

Taylorville easily took the first set, but they let things get interesting in the other. The match finished with set scores of 25-11, 25-16.

Taylorville had a senior duo take command as Brogan Anderson had 12 digs and Molly Smith had 11 assists and three aces.

Mt. Zion's victory bumped their record up to 20-15. As for Taylorville, their win bumped their record up to 31-5.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Mt. Zion has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 4.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Taylorville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 aces. 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.