Battle Creek and Norfolk Catholic are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2019, but not for long. The Battle Creek Braves are on the road again on Thursday to play the Norfolk Catholic Knights. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Battle Creek is headed into the matchup having just posted their biggest victory since October 13, 2023 last Tuesday. They put the hurt on Wakefield with a sharp 3-0 win.
The 3-0 doesn't show just how dominant Battle Creek was: they took every set by at least 11 points. After all that action, the final score was 25-9, 25-14, 25-10.
Jaidyn Smutny was the offensive standout of the contest as she had 13 digs. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had four or more in the last 38 games she's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Norfolk Catholic waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Eagles 3-0.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-11, 25-21, 25-14.
Norfolk Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Reese Timmerman out in front who had 16 digs and two aces. The team also got some help courtesy of Hannah Hoesing, who had six digs and 13 assists.
Norfolk Catholic was lethal from the service line and finished the game with ten aces. That's the most aces they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Battle Creek's record now sits at 5-1. As for Norfolk Catholic, their win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Battle Creek has serving mastered this season, having averaged 6.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Norfolk Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Battle Creek was able to grind out a solid victory over Norfolk Catholic in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Battle Creek since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
