Service is 2-8 against Dimond since October of 2023 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Cougars will venture away from home to face off against the Lynx at 8:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Service is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Chugiak, who was ranked third at the time (Service was ranked seventh). The Cougars skirted past the Mustangs 3-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.
Service was actually outscored in aggregate across those five sets (104-100), but they still managed to win. The final score came out to 16-25, 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 15-12.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Dimond, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They walked away with a 3-1 win over Bettye Davis East Anchorage on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Lynx in their matchups with the Thunderbirds: they've now won three in a row.
Dimond had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-18.
Service's record is now 15-8-3. As for Dimond, their record now sits at 18-9-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Service has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Dimond struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Service might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Dimond in their previous meeting last Tuesday. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
