The Ozark Tigers will square off against the Eldon Mustangs on Saturday. Ozark is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
On Thursday, Ozark got the win against Joplin by a conclusive 3-0.
The 3-0 score doesn't show just how dominant Ozark was: they took every set by at least 13 points. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-6, 25-8, 25-12.
Alexis Andela and Adilynn Rohrer were among the main playmakers for Ozark as the former had seven digs and two aces and the latter hit 88.9% for eight kills and three blocks. That's the most blocks Rohrer has posted since back in September of 2024.
They weren't the only good server: Ozark was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 20 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Eldon made easy work of Hallsville on Wednesday and carried off a 3-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won five in a row.
Eldon was especially dominant in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 25-19, 25-15, 25-17.
Ozark better focus on containing Sarah Tompkins and Audrey Dinwiddie as the pair were huge in Eldon's win. Tompkins had six digs and two aces, while Dinwiddie had 21 digs, 12 kills, and one block. Dinwiddie is on a roll when it comes to kills, as she's now had six or more in each of the last nine games she's played dating back to last season.
Eldon's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Ozark, their win bumped their record up to 11-0.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's game: Ozark has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Eldon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 12.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Ozark was able to grind out a solid victory over Eldon when the teams last played back in October of 2023, winning 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
