Upper Scioto Valley has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. After both having extra time off, they and the Hardin Northern Polar Bears will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Upper Scioto Valley came up short against Elgin on Thursday, falling 3-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Rams have suffered against the Comets since September 26, 2019.
The final score came out to 25-20, 25-20, 25-11.
Meanwhile, everything went Hardin Northern's way against Temple Christian on Thursday as Hardin Northern made off with a 3-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Polar Bears.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Hardin Northern was: they took every set by at least 11 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-11, 25-12, 25-14.
Hardin Northern can attribute much of their success to Kendall Frank, who had 11 aces, ten digs, and two kills, and Alexis Oakley, who had six digs. The dominant performance gave Frank a new career-high in aces.
Hardin Northern was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 21 aces. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're ace total in four consecutive matchups.
Upper Scioto Valley's loss dropped their record down to 1-13. As for Hardin Northern, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Upper Scioto Valley has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Hardin Northern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.6. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Upper Scioto Valley's way against Hardin Northern when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as Upper Scioto Valley made off with a 3-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Upper Scioto Valley 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
