Notus is 0-8 against Liberty Charter since October of 2019 but things could change on Thursday. The Pirates will face off against the Patriots at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Notus hadn't beaten Rimrock on the road since September 27, 2018 but that history sure didn't bother them on Monday. The Pirates won by a set and slipped past the Raiders 3-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Pirates.
Notus took Rimrock into a fifth set where they got it done with a two-point win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-8, 25-20, 15-25, 13-25, 16-14.
Meanwhile, Liberty Charter got the win against Rimrock on Wednesday by a conclusive 3-0. The victory continues a trend for the Patriots in their matchups with the Raiders: they've now won four in a row.
While Liberty Charter won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. The final score came out to 25-19, 25-20, 25-23.
Notus better focus on containing Lillian Lozano and Maci Nicley as the pair were huge in Liberty Charter's win. Lozano had 13 digs and two aces, while Nicley had eight digs and two aces. Those 13 digs gave Lozano a new career-high.
Liberty Charter 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 14 aces in eight consecutive matchups.
The win got Liberty Charter back to even at 12-12. As for Notus, their record is now 4-14.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Notus hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 7.6 blocks per game. It's a different story for Liberty Charter, though, as they've been averaging only 1.7 blocks. Given Notus' sizable advantage in that area, the Patriots will need to find a way to close that gap.
Notus might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Liberty Charter when the teams last played two weeks ago. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
