Highland hasn't had much luck against Corona del Sol recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Hawks will take on the Aztecs at 6:00 p.m. Highland will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.
Highland is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Perry. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Hawks have posted since October 10th.
If you add up the scores from across all five sets (109-105) Highland actually scored fewer points, but in the end it didn't matter. The final score came out to 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 15-25, 16-14.
Camryn Thruston went supernova, getting 21 digs and three assists.
Meanwhile, Corona del Sol got the win against Higley on Thursday by a conclusive 3-0. The win continues a trend for the Aztecs in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won three in a row.
One reason for the win was Corona del Sol's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. The match finished with set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-11.
Corona del Sol's win came from a few key players Highland will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Avalon Legg, who had ten digs and three aces. Adrya Vance was another key player, getting nine digs and two aces.
Corona del Sol was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That's the most aces they've posted since back in September.
Highland's record now sits at 28-9. As for Corona del Sol, their record is now 32-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's match: Highland has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Corona del Sol struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.4 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Highland came up short against Corona del Sol in their previous meeting back in August, falling 2-0. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
