Chico hasn't had much luck against Pleasant Valley recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Panthers will look to defend their home court against the Vikings at 7:00 p.m.
Chico came into their game on Tuesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 3-0 to Foothill.
Chico took the loss but they managed to make steady progress, increasing their score in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-10, 25-17, 25-23.
Despite the loss, Chico had strong showings from Naima Orozco, who had 11 digs and one assist, and Selija Marinescu, who had.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Valley earned a 3-1 victory over Shasta on Tuesday.
Pleasant Valley was especially dominant in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 25-17.
Chico better focus on containing Keira Purvis and Audrey Ferro as the pair were huge in Pleasant Valley's win. Purvis had 15 digs and two aces, while Ferro had five digs and four aces. Those four aces gave Ferro a new career-high.
Pleasant Valley was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 14 aces. They are 16-2 when they serve at least ten aces.
Pleasant Valley is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 23-13 record this season. As for Chico, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-15.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Chico has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Pleasant Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Chico suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Pleasant Valley in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more volleyball content.
