The Apex Cougars will square off against the Middle Creek Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Last Tuesday, Apex didn't have quite enough to beat Apex Friendship and fell 3-2.
While Apex ultimately came up short, they really made Apex Friendship work, particularly in the first set. The final score came out to 26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 15-10.
Apex's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Katie Raymer, who had 28 digs and two aces, and Leah Hulse, who had ten digs and two aces. Raymer is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in the last ten games she's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Middle Creek can finally bid farewell to their four-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 3-0 margin over Cary. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Mustangs have posted since September 5th.
While Middle Creek won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the third set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-14, 25-19, 28-26.
Middle Creek was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in four consecutive games.
Apex's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-5. As for Middle Creek, their win bumped their record up to 6-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Apex has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Middle Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Apex's way against Middle Creek in their previous matchup back in September, as Apex made off with a 3-0 victory. Will Apex repeat their success, or does Middle Creek have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
