After both having extra time off, the Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Tigers and the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. New Smyrna Beach took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, who comes in off a win.
On Thursday, Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy made easy work of Melbourne Central Catholic and carried off a 3-0 win.
The final score came out to 25-11, 25-11, 25-20.
Meanwhile, New Smyrna Beach didn't have quite enough to beat Mandarin on Thursday and fell 3-2. While the Barracudas didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Mustangs 25-17 in the first set.
New Smyrna Beach started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 17-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-13.
New Smyrna Beach has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season. As for Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 11-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's match: Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9 aces per game. However, it's not like New Smyrna Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy couldn't quite get it done against New Smyrna Beach in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 as they fell 2-0. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
