The Thornton Academy Trojans will head out to challenge the Windham Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Thornton Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maine's top teams: Scarborough, who was ranked third at the time (Thornton Academy was ranked fifth). The Trojans fell just short of the Red Storm by a score of 3-2 on Thursday. The loss continues a trend for the Trojans in their meetings with the Red Storm: they've now lost eight in a row.
Thornton Academy took Scarborough into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking two-point loss. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 23-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-15, 15-13.
Meanwhile, Windham came up short against Deering on Friday and fell 3-1. While the Eagles didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Rams 25-17 in the first set.
While Windham ultimately came up short, they really made Deering work, particularly in the fourth set. The match finished with set scores of 17-25, 25-20, 25-17, 26-24.
Thornton Academy will have to contain Lauren Neal 15/46 as she made an impact in Windham's last game. She had 11 digs. Belle Pinto also deserves some recognition as she had her first block of the season.
Windham's defeat dropped their record down to 2-9. As for Thornton Academy, the loss was their first on the road , dropping their record down to 8-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Thornton Academy has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 14 aces per game. However, it's not like Windham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Thornton Academy beat Windham 3-1 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trojans since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
