Pittsburg is 1-7 against Heritage since March of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Pirates will venture away from home to take on the Patriots at 6:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
On Tuesday, Pittsburg didn't have quite enough to beat Freedom and fell 3-2.
Pittsburg took Freedom into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking four-point loss. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-23, 15-11.
Despite the defeat, Pittsburg had strong showings from Angel Garcia, who had 13 digs and two aces, and Angel Lozano De La Cruz, who had nine digs and three aces.
Meanwhile, Heritage unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of Deer Valley by a score of 3-2.
While Deer Valley got the win, Heritage sure made them earn it: two sets took extra rallies. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 23-25, 18-25, 27-25, 28-26, 15-8.
Pittsburg will have to contain Cole Fujinaga as he made an impact in Heritage's last game. He had 23 assists and three digs. With that strong performance, Fujinaga is now averaging an impressive 12.2 assists per game. Nathan Panggat also deserves some recognition as he had his first block of the season.
Pittsburg's loss dropped their record down to 11-17. As for Heritage, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Pittsburg hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 6.5 blocks per game. It's a different story for Heritage, though, as they've been averaging only 1.5 blocks. Given Pittsburg's sizable advantage in that area, the Patriots will need to find a way to close that gap.
Pittsburg came out on top in a nail-biter against Heritage when the teams last played on April 1st, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Patriots' Alvin Ella, who had 18 digs and two aces. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Pirates still be able to contain Ella? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
