Belmont and Burlington are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Belmont Marauders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Burlington Red Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Belmont didn't have quite enough to beat Winchester and fell 3-2. The Marauders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Belmont wouldn't go down easily and took Winchester into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking four-point loss. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-22, 25-27, 22-25, 15-11.
The losing side was boosted by Zulal Merdinian, who had 11 digs.
Even though they lost, Belmont was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in 29 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Burlington made easy work of Stoneham on Tuesday and carried off a 3-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Red Devils.
Burlington never let Stoneham on the board, but things got pretty close in the third set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-10, 25-8, 25-22.
Belmont now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Burlington, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Belmont has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 14.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Burlington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.8. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Belmont skirted past Burlington 3-2 in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Burlington's Lauren Saia, who had 24 digs and two aces. Now that she won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Belmont to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
