New Albany is 0-10 against Pickerington North since October of 2020 but things could change on Tuesday. The Eagles will look to defend their home court against the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
New Albany will bounce into Tuesday's matchup after beating Lincoln, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Eagles came out on top against the Lions by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.
New Albany got the W, but it wasn't easy, at least in the fourth set. The match finished with set scores of 25-22, 25-20, 26-28, 30-28.
Aline Bhat
| 09/30/25 @ Lincoln | 30 |
| 09/25/25 vs Grove City | 12 |
| 09/23/25 vs Westerville Central | 15 |
| 09/18/25 @ Pickerington North | 13 |
| 09/16/25 @ Central Crossing | 14 |
| + 16 more games |
New Albany's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Aline Bhat, who had 30 digs and two aces. Bhat has been hot for a while, having posted ten or more digs the last 21 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jillian Welsh, who had 16 digs and two aces.
They weren't the only good servers: New Albany was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Pickerington North got the win against Grove City on Thursday by a conclusive 3-0.
Pickerington North never let Grove City on the board, but things got pretty close in the second set. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-22, 25-20.
New Albany's victory bumped their record up to 7-10. As for Pickerington North, their win bumped their record up to 13-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: New Albany has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8 aces per game. However, it's not like Pickerington North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
New Albany couldn't quite get it done against Pickerington North in their previous meeting back in September as they fell 3-1. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
