Syracuse has been away from home for six games now, but on Thursday they'll finally make their return. After both having extra time off, they and the Farmington Phoenix will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Syracuse is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: Timpview, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Syracuse was ranked 12th). Syracuse narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Timpview 3-2.
Syracuse took Timpview into a fifth set where they got it done with a two-point win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 19-25, 15-13.
Among those leading the charge was Karlie Hamblin, who had 16 digs. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in the last nine games she's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Farmington can finally bid farewell to their four-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They walked away with a 3-1 victory over East.
The final score came out to 25-22, 21-25, 25-9, 25-17.
Farmington's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Callie Curtis, who had five digs and three aces. The dominant performance gave Curtis a new career-high in aces. The team also got some help courtesy of Calia Miller, who had 21 digs.
Farmington was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 18 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in eight consecutive matchups.
Syracuse's victory bumped their record up to 8-3. As for Farmington, their win bumped their record up to 5-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Syracuse has serving mastered this season, having averaged 10.3 aces per game. However, it's not like Farmington 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.
Syracuse came out on top in a nail-biter against Farmington when the teams last played back in October of 2023, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Farmington's Quincy Wilson, who had 20 digs. Now that she won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Syracuse 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
