Highland is 6-1 against Shelby since September of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Highland Fighting Scots will square off against the Shelby Whippets at 7:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Tuesday.
Highland took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They blew past Marion Harding 3-0.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Highland took every set by at least 16 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-8, 25-9, 25-9.
Among those leading the charge was MaKaylee Merckling, who had 11 digs. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in the last three games she's played dating back to last season.
Highland was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 16 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in 15 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Shelby waltzed into their contest on Monday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They were the clear victor by a 3-0 margin over the Rams.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Shelby was: they took every set by at least 14 points. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-11, 25-8, 25-8.
Kendra Walp had a dynamite game for Shelby, getting 16 digs and five aces. That's the most aces Walp has posted since back in September of 2023.
Highland pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Shelby, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Highland has serving mastered this season, having averaged 10.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Shelby struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Highland took their win against Shelby when the teams last played back in August by a conclusive 3-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Highland since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
