Desert Oasis hasn't had much luck against Arbor View recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Diamondbacks will welcome the Aggies at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Desert Oasis is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Sierra Vista, who was ranked 11th at the time (Desert Oasis was ranked 14th). The Diamondbacks walked away with a 3-1 victory over the Mountain Lions on Tuesday. The win was some much needed relief for the Diamondbacks as it spelled an end to their five-game losing streak.
The victory didn't come easy: Sierra Vista scored at least 21 points in every set. The match finished with set scores of 26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21.
Farhan Chowdhury was the offensive standout of the matchup as he had nine digs and three assists.
Meanwhile, Arbor View beat Green Valley 3-1 on Tuesday. The Aggies haven't had any issues with the Gators recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17.
Arbor View's win came from a few key players Desert Oasis will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was David Haldeman, who had 22 assists and 11 digs. He is on a roll when it comes to assists, as he's now posted 22 or more in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Brady Hashimoto, who had 23 assists and five digs.
Desert Oasis' victory bumped their record up to 17-19. As for Arbor View, their win bumped their record up to 19-16.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Desert Oasis has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 4.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Arbor View struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Desert Oasis came up short against Arbor View in their previous matchup back in April, falling 3-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Aggies' Marc Jordan Morre, who had 23 digs and six aces. Now that the Diamondbacks know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
