The Gaston Christian Eagles will head out to face off against the Hickory Christian Academy Knights at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Gaston Christian is headed into the contest having just posted their closest win since August 8th on Thursday. They skirted past Westminster Catawba Christian 3-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.
Gaston Christian was actually outscored in aggregate across those five sets (109-105), but they still managed to win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 23-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 17-15.
Hayden Parsons and Ava Russell were among the main playmakers for Gaston Christian as the former had 13 digs and three aces and the latter had 11 digs. That's the most digs Russell has posted since back in August. Bailey Knox also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
Meanwhile, Hickory Christian Academy made easy work of North Hills Christian on Thursday and carried off a 3-0 victory. The Knights haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Gaston Christian better keep an eye on Kamryn Sain. She was instrumental in Hickory Christian Academy's win, getting eight aces and seven digs.
Hickory Christian Academy was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 21 aces. That's the most aces they've managed all season.
Gaston Christian's record now sits at 13-9. As for Hickory Christian Academy, their record is now 8-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Gaston Christian has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Hickory Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Gaston Christian might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Hickory Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in August of 2024. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
