Stryker is 1-9 against Hilltop since September of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Stryker Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Hilltop Cadets at 5:30 p.m.
Stryker is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Wauseon just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Indians by a score of 3-2.
Stryker started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 24-26, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-10.
Despite the defeat, Stryker had strong showings from Kayla Fultz, who had 12 digs, and Abby Oberlin, who had 33 digs, 11 kills, two aces, and two aces. Oberlin is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in the last 12 games she's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Hilltop waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They put the hurt on the Locomotives with a sharp 3-0 win.
A big factor in the win was Hilltop's feisty defense: they held Montpelier to fewer and fewer points set over set. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 25-18, 25-17.
Stryker's loss dropped their record down to 7-7. As for Hilltop, they pushed their record up to 14-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Stryker has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 10.9 aces per game. However, it's not like Hilltop 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.
Stryker might still be hurting after the 3-0 defeat they got from Hilltop when the teams last played back in August. Can Stryker avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
