Dover has won 17 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Tri-Valley has won 17 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Tuesday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Dover had to skate by with only a one-set margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the three-set drubbing they dealt New Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Crimson Tornadoes blew past the Quakers 3-0.
Dover's got stronger as the match went on, holding New Philadelphia to fewer and fewer points set over set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 25-17, 25-14.
Meanwhile, Tri-Valley got the win against Steubenville on Wednesday by a conclusive 3-0.
Tri-Valley not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Steubenville between 14 and 17 points across their sets. The final score came out to 25-17, 25-14, 25-17.
Dover better keep an eye on Gracie Olinger. She was instrumental in Tri-Valley's win, getting 13 digs and two aces. Olinger has been hot recently, having posted two or more aces the last four times she's played.
Tri-Valley was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 18 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least nine aces in eight consecutive contests.
Dover's win bumped their record up to 21-2. As for Tri-Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 18-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Dover has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Tri-Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 12.3 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Dover's way against Tri-Valley in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as Dover made off with a 3-0 win. Do the Crimson Tornadoes have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Scotties turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
