After both having extra time off, the Hicksville Aces and the Liberty Center Tigers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Considering both teams were shutout in their prior games, the pair is probably coming into this one with something to prove.
Hicksville came up short against Fairview on Thursday, falling 3-0. The Aces haven't had much luck with the Apaches recently, as the team has come up short the last nine times they've met.
While Hicksville was kept off the board, it wasn't for a lack of trying: they cut into Fairview's winning margin in every set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-10, 25-15, 25-16.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Liberty Center took on Miller City on Thursday. The Tigers lost 3-0 to the Wildcats.
While Liberty Center was not able to make it on the board, they still kept things close, especially in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 25-14, 25-21.
Hicksville's loss dropped their record down to 4-18. As for Liberty Center, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Hicksville has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Liberty Center struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Hicksville came up short against Liberty Center in their previous meeting last Saturday, falling 2-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Tigers' Chloe Mohler, who had 23 digs and four assists. Now that the Aces know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
