Highland is 0-10 against Bakersfield since August of 2021 but things could change on Thursday. The Scots will host the Drillers at 6:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Highland turned things around against Ridgeview on Tuesday. They won by a set and slipped past the Wolf Pack 3-2.
Highland had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 18-25, 16-25, 25-18, 26-24, 15-6.
Meanwhile, Bakersfield made easy work of Independence on Tuesday and carried off a 3-0 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Drillers have posted against the Falcons since August 24, 2017.
While Bakersfield 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 25-21, 25-13, 28-26.
Highland better focus on containing Valeria Cunyas and Carly Arambula as the pair were huge in Bakersfield's win. Cunyas had 13 digs and four aces, while Arambula had six digs and four aces. That's the most aces Cunyas has posted since back in August of 2024.
Bakersfield was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least eight aces in three consecutive matchups.
Bakersfield's victory bumped their record up to 10-7. As for Highland, their win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 13-13-3.
Highland might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Bakersfield in their previous meeting two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Arambula, who had 27 digs and two aces. Now that the Scots know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
