Pleasant Valley has gone 8-2 against Chico recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Pleasant Valley Vikings will be playing at home against the Chico Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Tuesday, Pleasant Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Shasta and fell 3-2.
Pleasant Valley actually scored more points across those five sets (110-96), but sadly they still had to settle for second. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 11-25, 18-25, 26-24, 16-14.
Despite the loss, Pleasant Valley saw an underclassman step up: Kobi Sanchez had 26 digs and three aces. Those 26 digs set a new season-high mark for Sanchez.
Even though they lost, Pleasant Valley couldn't miss and finished the game having scored on 40.7% of their attack attempts. This was only their first loss (out of three games) when when their percentage is at least 0.4.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Chico faced off against Foothill on Tuesday. Chico lost 3-0 to Foothill. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Panthers have suffered since September 19th.
Chico was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Foothill work for it, especially in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 28-26, 25-16.
Chico's loss came about despite a quality game from Peyton Conway, who had nine digs and 14 assists.
Pleasant Valley's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 22-16. As for Chico, they have been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 12 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 25-15 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Pleasant Valley hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 4.1 blocks per game. It's a different story for Chico, though, as they've been averaging only 1.9. Given Pleasant Valley's sizable advantage in that area, Chico will need to find a way to close that gap.
Pleasant Valley beat Chico 3-1 when the teams last played on October 8th. Will Pleasant Valley repeat their success, or does Chico have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
