The Newaygo Lions will square off against the Grant Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Newaygo came up short against Reed City and fell 3-1. While the Lions didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Coyotes 25-21 in the first set.
Newaygo started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-22.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kylie Corrigan, who had 12 digs.
Grant extended their road winning streak to five games thanks to a huge performance from VanMeter Lillian. The Tigers came out on top against Tri County Area by a score of 3-1 on Thursday thanks in part to Lillian, who had 31 digs and four aces. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 10.6 digs per game.
Grant had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-22.
Grant's win bumped their record up to 19-8. As for Newaygo, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Newaygo has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Grant struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Newaygo skirted past Grant 2-1 in their previous meeting on September 6th. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
