The Sterling Tigers will take on the University Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Thursday, Sterling got the win against Fort Morgan by a conclusive 3-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tigers.
Sterling's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Courtney Canada, who had eight digs and two aces, and Tyla Thomas, who had ten digs. Canada is on a roll when it comes to aces, as she's now served two or more in the last three games she's played.
Sterling was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 16 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least 13 aces in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, University entered their tilt with Fort Morgan on Tuesday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Mustangs 3-0.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant University was: they took every set by at least 14 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-11, 25-11, 25-11.
University found their leader in underclassman Livianna Aguilar, who had 18 digs. Those 18 digs set a new season-high mark for Aguilar.
Sterling's win bumped their record up to 11-3. As for University, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Sterling has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.7 aces per game. However, it's not like University struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Sterling beat University 3-1 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sterling since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
