Holgate has not had much luck against Antwerp over the past 10 seasons, but that could start to change on Wednesday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:30 p.m. Antwerp took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Holgate, who comes in off a win.
Holgate proved they can win big with a three-set victory on Tuesday. On Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out North Central 3-2.
Holgate wouldn't go down easily and took North Central into a fifth set where they got it done with an eight-point win. The final set scores came out to 16-25, 25-12, 25-20, 23-25, 15-7.
Holgate got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Sylee Leaders out in front who had 55 assists and 22 digs. Anna Bower was another key player, getting 25 digs and 12 kills.
Meanwhile, Antwerp came up short against Ayersville on Thursday, falling 3-0.
The loss didn't mean the game wasn't competitive: Antwerp scored at least 17 points in every set. Once all was said and done, the final set scores wound up at 25-19, 25-17, 25-19.
Antwerp has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost seven of their last nine contests. That's left a mark on their 8-14 record this season. As for Holgate, they have been performing well recently, winning six of their last eight games. That's given a healthy boost to their 11-11 record this season.
Holgate couldn't quite get it done against Antwerp the last time they met, on September 1st as they fell 3-1. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat, or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll have the answer soon enough.
