Illinois Math & Science Academy hasn't had much luck against Newark recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Illinois Math & Science Academy Titans will challenge the Newark Norsemen at 6:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Illinois Math & Science Academy narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past St. Edward 2-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Titans.
Illinois Math & Science Academy had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next two. The final score came out to 21-25, 25-17, 25-21.
Illinois Math & Science Academy kept the net locked down and finished the game with ten blocks. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're block total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Newark beat DePue 2-0 on Tuesday.
The 2-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Newark was: they took both sets by at least 13 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-4, 25-12.
Illinois Math & Science Academy has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. As for Newark, their win was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Illinois Math & Science Academy hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 4.1 blocks per game. It's a different story for Newark, though, as they've been averaging only 0.4. Given Illinois Math & Science Academy's sizable advantage in that area, Newark will need to find a way to close that gap.
Illinois Math & Science Academy came up short against Newark when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 2-0. Can Illinois Math & Science Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
