The Pinecrest Patriots are on the road again on Monday to play the Middle Creek Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Wednesday, Pinecrest came up short against Gray's Creek and fell 3-1.
The final score came out to 25-20, 25-17, 9-25, 25-13.
Despite the loss, Pinecrest got top-tier performance from Hailey Gibbons, who had ten digs and six aces. That's the most aces Gibbons has posted since back in September of 2023.
Even though they lost, Pinecrest was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in 11 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Middle Creek came up short against Green Hope on Thursday, falling 3-0.
The match finished with set scores of 25-14, 25-14, 25-9.
Despite the defeat, Middle Creek saw an underclassman step up: Cameron Gerber had 11 digs.
Pinecrest's loss dropped their record down to 10-6. As for Middle Creek, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's matchup: Pinecrest has serving mastered this season, having averaged 9.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Middle Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.5. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pinecrest came up short against Middle Creek when the teams last played back in August of 2023, falling 3-1. Can Pinecrest avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
