Hickman has gone 8-2 against Battle recently and they'll look to pad the win column further  on Thursday. After both having extra time off,  the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out  at 6:00  p.m. Battle took a loss in their last  contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Hickman, who comes in off a win.
Last Wednesday, Hickman beat Father Tolton 3-1.
 While Hickman might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Father Tolton scored at least 20 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 13-25,  25-20.

 Kaylie Brinkley
| 10/15/25 @ Father Tolton | 8 | 
| 10/14/25 @ Eldon | 5 | 
| 10/11/25 vs Willard | 1 | 
| 10/11/25 vs Lebanon | 3 | 
| 10/11/25 vs Marshfield | 1 | 
| + 2 more games | 
Hickman's success was spearheaded by the efforts of   Alaina Young, who  had 11  digs and three  assists, and   Kaylie Brinkley, who  had 19  digs, eight  kills,  and three  aces. That's the most  kills  Brinkley has posted  over her last seven  matches. Another player making a difference was  Jazleen Rosas-Robinson, who  had nine  digs.
 They weren't the only good servers: Hickman  was lethal from the service line and  finished the match with ten  aces. They are 5-1 when  they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, Battle came up short against Rock Bridge on Tuesday and fell  3-1. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back matches.
 While Battle had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 18 points in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-21, 15-25,  25-21.
 Hickman will have to keep a close watch on  Ellie Boyer and  Lauren Holmgren, a pair of players who had a big impact on Battle's prior game. Boyer  had 17  digs and four  assists, while  Holmgren  had 18 assists and ten  digs.  Mariana Flores-Hernandez also deserves some recognition as  she  served her first  aces of the season.
 Hickman's victory bumped their record up to 11-15-3. As for Battle, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-15-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of  Thursday's  matchup:  Hickman has really dialed in their serving  this season,  having  averaged 6.2  aces per game. However, it's not like Battle struggles in that department as   they've been averaging 4.4  aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
 Everything went Hickman's way against Battle in their previous meeting  back in September, as Hickman made off with  a  3-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Kewpies since the  team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.