After both having extra time off, the Lancaster Golden Gales and the Hilliard Davidson Wildcats will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Lancaster came up short against Newark last Thursday, falling 3-0.
While Lancaster ultimately came up short, they really made Newark work, particularly in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 25-23, 26-24, 25-14.
Despite the defeat, Lancaster saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Hadley Truex had six digs and two aces.
Meanwhile, Hilliard Davidson was not able to break out of their rough patch last Thursday as the team picked up their 15th straight loss. They were a single set away from ending the streak, but they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Upper Arlington. Wildcats fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team has lost against the Golden Bears since last Thursday.
Hilliard Davidson wouldn't go down easily and took Upper Arlington into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking five-point loss. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-13, 25-16, 23-25, 17-25, 15-10.
Lancaster will have to keep a close watch on Kaitlyn Chenault and Maggie Ray, a pair of players who had a big impact on Hilliard Davidson's prior game. Chenault had five digs and three aces, while Ray had seven digs and two aces.
Hilliard Davidson's defeat dropped their record down to 2-20. As for Lancaster, their loss dropped their record down to 9-13.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's match: Lancaster has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Hilliard Davidson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lancaster was able to grind out a solid win over Hilliard Davidson when the teams last played back in August of 2019, winning 3-1. Do the Golden Gales have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
