The Escalon Cougars will head out on the road to face off against the Ripon Christian Knights at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday. Escalon is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Last Thursday, Escalon was able to grind out a solid victory over Hughson, taking the game 3-1.
Escalon was especially dominant in the fourth set. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-12.
Escalon was lethal from the service line and finished the game with ten aces. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hughson only served six.
Meanwhile, Ripon Christian posted their biggest win since September 5th on Monday. They put the hurt on Manteca with a sharp 3-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Knights.
While Ripon Christian won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. The final score came out to 25-17, 25-20, 25-22.
Ripon Christian relied on the efforts of Alanna Blanco, who had 14 digs and 28 assists, and Anneke Dyt, who had 12 digs. Blanco is on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 20 or more in the last 14 games she's played dating back to last season.
The win got Escalon back to even at 10-10. As for Ripon Christian, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-12 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Escalon has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Ripon Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.5. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Escalon came up short against Ripon Christian in their previous meeting back in September, falling 3-1. Can Escalon avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
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