The Knob Noster Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Lafayette County Huskers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Knob Noster and Lexington, and Knob Noster kept the tradition alive. The Panthers were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Minutemen on Tuesday. The Panthers have beaten the Minutemen the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Minutemen has come to flipping the script.
Knob Noster never let Lexington on the board, but things got pretty close in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-15, 25-23, 25-20.
Meanwhile, Lafayette County got the win against Holden on Tuesday by a conclusive 3-0.
Lafayette County was especially dominant in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 25-12, 25-18, 25-19.
Knob Noster better keep an eye on Alex Erdman. She was instrumental in Lafayette County's win, getting eight digs and three aces. That's the most digs Erdman has posted over her last two matchups.
Knob Noster's record now sits at 8-10-2. As for Lafayette County, their record is now 18-1-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Knob Noster has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Lafayette County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Knob Noster came up short against Lafayette County when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 3-1. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
