After both having extra time off, the Winter Park Wildcats and the Doral Academy Firebirds will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Winter Park comes in on 23 and Doral Academy on three.
Winter Park is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Hagerty with a sharp 3-0 victory. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Winter Park's got stronger as the match went on, holding Hagerty to fewer and fewer points set over set. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-13, 25-10.
Winter Park relied on the efforts of Isabel Bertelsen, who had 11 digs and eight assists, and Jordyn Lehman, who had nine digs and two assists. That's the most assists Lehman has posted over her last six matchups.
Cypress Bay came into Wednesday's match looking for another win against Doral Academy, but Amy Smith wouldn't allow it. The Firebirds came out on top against the Lightning by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday thanks in part to Smith, who had three aces and two blocks. She is also on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 17 or more in each of the last 13 games she's played.
Doral Academy had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21.
Winter Park's win bumped their record up to 29-1. As for Doral Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 16-13.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Winter Park has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Doral Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Winter Park skirted past Doral Academy 2-1 when the teams last played back in September of 2022. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Firebirds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
