The Licking Valley Panthers will face off against the Watkins Memorial Warriors at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Licking Valley will be strutting in after a victory while Watkins Memorial will be coming in after a defeat.
Licking Valley will bounce into Tuesday's matchup after beating Licking Heights, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Hornets 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Panthers have posted against the Hornets since September 20, 2022.
The match was a true back-and-forth as no team won consecutive sets, but in the end it was Licking Valley who won the one that mattered. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13.
Meanwhile, Watkins Memorial didn't have quite enough to beat Granville on Thursday and fell 3-2. The Warriors have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
In an exciting match in which no team claimed back-to-back wins, Watkins Memorial sadly wound up on the wrong side. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12.
Despite the loss, Watkins Memorial saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Sofia Zamora had 26 digs and three aces. Zamora is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 16 or more in each of the last four games she's played.
Licking Valley has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-9 record this season. As for Watkins Memorial, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-13.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's contest: Licking Valley has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Watkins Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Licking Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Watkins Memorial when the teams last played back in September, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
