After both having extra time off, the Firelands Falcons and the Cloverleaf Colts will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The timing is sure in Firelands' favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home while Cloverleaf has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Last Thursday, Firelands got the win against Brookside by a conclusive 3-0.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Firelands took every set by at least 11 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-11.
Firelands' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Andie Eberhardt, who had six aces and four digs, and Stella Frederick, who had 12 digs. With that strong performance, Eberhardt is now averaging an impressive 2.2 aces per game.
Firelands was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Cloverleaf lost 3-0 to Streetsboro on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Colts have suffered against the Rockets since September 17, 2020.
Cloverleaf was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Streetsboro work for it, especially in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-10, 27-25, 25-21.
Firelands is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. As for Cloverleaf, their loss dropped their record down to 10-12.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's matchup: Firelands has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9 aces per game. However, it's not like Cloverleaf struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Firelands came out on top in a nail-biter against Cloverleaf in their previous matchup last Saturday, sneaking past 2-1. Will Firelands repeat their success, or does Cloverleaf have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
