Merrillville is 2-8 against Hanover Central since August of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Merrillville Pirates are taking a road trip to take on the Hanover Central Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. Considering both teams were shutout in their prior games, the pair is probably coming into this one with something to prove.
Merrillville and Hammond Bishop Noll met for a duel on Monday where Merrillville couldn't get it done. Merrillville came up short against Hammond Bishop Noll, falling 3-0. The Pirates have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The final score came out to 25-14, 25-9, 25-16.
Meanwhile, Hanover Central suffered their biggest loss since September 23rd on Thursday. They came up short against Kankakee Valley, falling 3-0.
Hanover Central was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Kankakee Valley work for it, especially in the third set. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 25-18, 29-27.
Despite the defeat, Hanover Central saw an underclassman step up: Liliana Chorba had 13 digs. Chorba has been hot recently, having posted ten or more digs the last three times she's played.
Merrillville's loss dropped their record down to 12-14. As for Hanover Central, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-17 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's contest: Merrillville has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9 aces per game. However, it's not like Hanover Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Merrillville's way against Hanover Central in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as Merrillville made off with a 3-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Merrillville since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
