Northwest hasn't had much luck against Waverly recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. Northwest will venture away from home to challenge Waverly at 11:00 a.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Northwest 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 Gross Catholic on Thursday. The Vikings blew past the Cougars 3-0. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won seven in a row.
While Northwest won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-15, 25-18, 29-27.
Among those leading the charge was Halle Rice, who had 12 digs and four assists.
Waverly won the last time they faced Duchesne and Emmalyn Quinn did her part to make sure it happened again. The Vikings were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Cardinals on Thursday with plenty of help from Quinn, who had 17 digs and two aces. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 13 or more in each of the last three games she's played.
The final score came out to 25-20, 25-7, 25-15.
Northwest's record now sits at 23-10. As for Waverly, their record is now 28-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's matchup: Northwest has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Waverly struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Northwest suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Waverly in their previous meeting back in September. Can Northwest avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.