Clarkston is 3-0 against Rochester since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Clarkston Wolves will be staying on the road to face off against the Rochester Falcons at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Clarkston is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Michigan's top teams: Hudsonville, who was ranked 12th in their home state at the time (Clarkston was ranked 16th). Clarkston came out on top against Hudsonville by a score of 2-0 two weeks ago. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Wolves as it put an end to their four-game losing streak.
The 2-0 score doesn't really reflect how close the match was: every set was decided by three points or less. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-22.
Meanwhile, Rochester had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They had just enough and edged West Bloomfield out 3-2.
Rochester got the W, but it wasn't easy, at least in the first set. The match finished with set scores of 32-30, 25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 15-10.
Among those leading the charge was Esha Mengle, who had ten digs.
Rochester was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. That's the most aces they've posted in their last nine matches.
Clarkston's win bumped their record up to 16-4. As for Rochester, their victory bumped their record up to 18-19-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Clarkston has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.4 aces per game. However, it's not like Rochester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Clarkston took their win against Rochester in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 3-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clarkston 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
