After both having extra time off, the Jackson-Milton Bluejays and the Springfield Tigers will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Jackson-Milton will be strutting in after a win while Springfield will be coming in after a defeat.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, Jackson-Milton finally turned things around against Lowellville last Tuesday. They came out on top against the Rockets by a score of 3-1.
Jackson-Milton had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24.
Meanwhile, Springfield unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of Western Reserve by a score of 3-2. While the Tigers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Blue Devils 25-23 in the first set.
Springfield took a 2-1 lead headed into the fourth set, but sadly they lost the next two. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-21, 15-13.
Even though they lost, Springfield 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 five aces in 21 consecutive matchups.
Jackson-Milton's victory ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-12. As for Springfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's game: Jackson-Milton has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 9.5 aces per game. However, it's not like Springfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 14. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Jackson-Milton skirted past Springfield 3-2 in their previous matchup back in September. Does Jackson-Milton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Springfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
