Upper Merion Area has won four straight games at home, while Pope John Paul II has won four straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Upper Merion Area Vikings will host Pope John Paul II at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Upper Merion Area earned a 3-1 victory over Phoenixville.
In the three sets Upper Merion Area was on fire: they won each by at least 11 points. The final score came out to 25-14, 22-25, 25-12, 25-11.
Upper Merion Area's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Valeria Paneto led the charge by getting 23 digs. Paneto is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in the last seven games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Emily Nguyen, who had seven digs and four aces.
She wasn't the only good server: Upper Merion Area was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 13 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in nine consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II faced Upper Merion Area in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Wednesday. Pope John Paul II won by a set and slipped past Upper Merion Area 3-2.
Pope John Paul II was staring down a 2-1 deficit headed into the fourth set, but they rallied to take the next two for the win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 25-14, 15-5.
Upper Merion Area's win bumped their record up to 21-3. As for Pope John Paul II, their victory bumped their record up to 22-0-1.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
