Widefield hasn't had much luck against Palmer recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Gladiators will welcome the Terrors at 6:00 p.m.
Widefield came up short against Coronado on Tuesday, falling 3-0.
Widefield was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Coronado work for it, especially in the third set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-17, 26-24.
Meanwhile, Palmer entered their tilt with Mesa Ridge on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Grizzlies by a score of 3-1.
Palmer got the W, but it wasn't easy, at least in the fourth set. The final score came out to 25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 31-29.
Widefield better focus on containing Audrenna Gemmeke-Hall and Hailey Tong as the pair were huge in Palmer's win. Gemmeke-Hall had 13 digs and two aces, while Tong had 30 digs. With that strong performance, Tong is now averaging an impressive 10.2 digs per game. Savannah Herrera also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
Palmer was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least eight aces in 13 consecutive matchups.
Palmer's victory bumped their record up to 15-6. As for Widefield, their loss dropped their record down to 12-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Widefield has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Palmer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Widefield suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Palmer in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Gladiators have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
