The Champion Golden Flashes will face off against the Berkshire Badgers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Champion had taken Newton Falls down for three straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Golden Flashes lost 3-0 to the Tigers.
Champion was held off the scoreboard, but that almost wasn't the case: they kept the first set very close. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 25-17, 25-20.
Meanwhile, Berkshire came tearing into Saturday's contest with ten straight wins , and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Cardinals by a score of 3-1.
Berkshire had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 11-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19.
Berkshire's win came from a few key players Champion will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ava Chuha, who had 15 assists and eight digs. That's the most assists she has posted over her last 12 matchups. Maddie Bower was another key player, getting 12 digs and two assists.
Berkshire was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in seven consecutive matches.
Champion's defeat dropped their record down to 4-17. As for Berkshire, their record is now 20-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Champion has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6 aces per game. However, it's not like Berkshire struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Champion might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Berkshire in their previous matchup back in August. Can the Golden Flashes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
