The Midlothian Panthers will face off against the Red Oak Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a five-game winning streak alive.
It was a proper cat-fight when Midlothian challenged Kaufman on Tuesday. The Panthers put the hurt on the Lions with a sharp 3-0 victory.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-16, 25-20.
Meanwhile, Red Oak got the win against Corsicana on Tuesday by a conclusive 3-0.
Red Oak was especially dominant in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 25-15, 25-21.
Red Oak found their leader in freshman Maleah Ellis, who had six digs and two aces. Carlie Hughes also deserves some recognition as she served her first ace of the season.
Red Oak was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 12 aces. That's the most aces they've posted since back in August.
Red Oak's win bumped their record up to 23-9. As for Midlothian, their victory bumped their record up to 17-13.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Midlothian has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Red Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Midlothian's way against Red Oak in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as Midlothian made off with a 3-0 win. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
