Highland is 0-6 against Illiana Christian since October of 2018 but things could change on Monday. The Highland Trojans and the Illiana Christian Vikings are set to duel. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Highland took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top against Hobart by a score of 3-1. The victory was some much needed relief for the Trojans as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Highland 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, 25-19, 25-13, 25-16.
Highland found their leader in underclassman Aubree Aherns, who had 11 digs and five aces. That's the most aces Aherns has posted in her last seven games.
Meanwhile, Illiana Christian made easy work of Munster on Thursday and carried off a 3-0 win.
Illiana Christian never let Munster on the board, but things got pretty close in the third set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-14, 25-22.
Illiana Christian was lethal from the service line and finished the game with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in eight consecutive matches.
Highland's victory bumped their record up to 11-16. As for Illiana Christian, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-8 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's matchup: Highland has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Illiana Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Highland suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Illiana Christian in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Will Highland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
