After both having extra time off, the Ellsworth Eagles and the Hampden Broncos will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ellsworth is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maine's top teams: Brewer, who was ranked 20th at the time (Ellsworth was ranked 18th). The Eagles walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Witches on Tuesday.
Ellsworth was especially dominant in the fourth set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 26-24, 25-27, 25-15.
Meanwhile, Hampden waltzed into their match on Wednesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Rams.
While Hampden won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the first set they played. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-9, 25-19.
Hampden's win came from a few key players Ellsworth will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zoelle Raymond, who had eight digs and five aces. That's the most aces she has posted since back in September. Another player making a difference was Addison Schall, who had ten digs and three aces.
Hampden was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 18 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least 16 aces in three consecutive matchups.
The win got Hampden back to even at 6-6. As for Ellsworth, the victory also got them back to even at 6-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Ellsworth has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 14.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Hampden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 15.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Ellsworth took their win against Hampden when the teams last played back in September by a conclusive 3-0 score. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Broncos turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
