After both having extra time off, the Bishop Feehan Shamrocks and the Hopkinton Hillers will shake off the rust and duke it out on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bishop Feehan has three straight victories, Hopkinton has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Bishop Feehan 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 Westwood on Friday. The Shamrocks blew past the Wolverines 3-0.
Bishop Feehan's got stronger as the match went on, holding Westwood to fewer and fewer points set over set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 25-18, 25-14.
Bishop Feehan can attribute much of their success to Ella Graham, who had nine digs and three assists.
Meanwhile, Hopkinton didn't have quite enough to beat Bishop Feehan on Thursday and fell 3-2.
Hopkinton wouldn't go down easily and took Bishop Feehan into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking three-point loss. The final score came out to 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12.
Bishop Feehan will have to keep a close watch on Gabby Pattie and Sydney Stephen, a pair of players who had a big impact on Hopkinton's prior game. Pattie had 42 assists and 13 digs, while Stephen had 18 digs and four aces. Pattie has been hot for a while, having posted 17 or more assists the last 14 times she's played.
Hopkinton's loss dropped their record down to 12-8. As for Bishop Feehan, their win bumped their record up to 14-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's contest: Bishop Feehan has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 11.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Hopkinton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bishop Feehan skirted past Hopkinton 3-2 in their previous matchup on Thursday. Will the Shamrocks repeat their success, or do the Hillers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
