The Utica Redskins will venture away from home to challenge the Licking Valley Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Licking Valley took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Utica, who comes in off a win.
Utica barely beat Heath the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Redskins were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Bulldogs on Tuesday.
Utica not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Heath between 18 and 21 points across their sets. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-19, 25-21.
Licking Valley had taken Watkins Memorial down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Panthers fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 3-2.
Licking Valley took a 2-1 lead headed into the fourth set, but sadly they lost the next two. The final score came out to 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-7.
Utica is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-4 record this season. As for Licking Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Utica has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9 aces per game. However, it's not like Licking Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Utica took their victory against Licking Valley in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Redskins since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
