After both having extra time off, the Pike Central Chargers and the Perry Central Commodores will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pike Central is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
Last Tuesday, Pike Central came up short against Gibson Southern and fell 3-1. While the Chargers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Titans 25-13 in the first set.
Pike Central started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 13-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-18.
Meanwhile, Perry Central hadn't done well against Springs Valley recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Perry Central had just enough and edged Springs Valley out 3-2.
Perry Central was staring down a 2-1 deficit headed into the fourth set, but they rallied to take the next two for the win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 24-26, 25-16, 14-25, 25-19, 16-14.
Perry Central was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 20 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in 12 consecutive games.
Pike Central's defeat dropped their record down to 6-18. As for Perry Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-11 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Pike Central has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Perry Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.9. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pike Central came up short against Perry Central when the teams last played back in September of 2017, falling 2-0. Can Pike Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
