Alonso hasn't had much luck against Wharton recently, but that could start to change on Monday. After both having extra time off, both will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:30 p.m. Alonso is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
Last Tuesday, it was close, but Alonso sidestepped Tampa Bay Tech for a 3-2 victory.
Alonso was staring down a 2-1 deficit headed into the fourth set, but they rallied to take the next two for the win. The match finished with set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 14-25, 26-24, 19-17.
Alonso was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in 12 consecutive matchups.
Strawberry Crest typically has all the answers at home, but last Tuesday Wharton proved too difficult a challenge. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Chargers 3-2. The victory was nothing new for the Wildcats as they're now sitting on three straight.
It was an exciting match in which no team won back-to-back sets, but at the end of the day Wharton got the one that really mattered. The final score came out to 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 18-25, 17-15.
Wharton's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lauren Galfond led the charge by getting 11 digs and 29 assists. Galfond has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more assists the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Morgan Talbot, who had five digs and five aces.
Alonso's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-5. As for Wharton, their record now sits at 9-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's game: Alonso has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 16.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Wharton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.8. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Alonso might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Wharton when the teams last played back in August of 2023. Thankfully for Alonso, Danielle Galfond (who had nine digs and two aces) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
