Kirksville is 0-10 against Hannibal since October of 2020 but things could change on Tuesday. The Tigers are taking a road trip to take on the Pirates at 6:00 p.m. Kirksville will be strutting in after a win while Hannibal will be coming in after a defeat.
Kirksville took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They walked away with a 3-1 victory over Marshall.
Kirksville had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 18-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-7.
Kirksville relied on the efforts of Sydney Cochran, who had five digs and three aces, and Chloe Schwend, who had three digs and two aces. That's the most aces Cochran has posted since back in September.
They weren't the only good servers: Kirksville was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 13 aces. They are a perfect 6-0 when they serve at least ten aces.
Meanwhile, Hannibal suffered their biggest loss since October 28, 2024 on Wednesday. They lost 3-0 to North Point. The Pirates have struggled against the Grizzlies recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Hannibal took the loss but they managed to make steady progress, increasing their score in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-21, 25-22, 26-24.
Kirksville's record now sits at 8-6. As for Hannibal, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-6-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's match: Kirksville hasn't let much over the net this season, having averaged 4.3 blocks per game. It's a different story for Hannibal, though, as they've been averaging only 1.7 blocks. Given Kirksville's sizable advantage in that area, the Pirates will need to find a way to close that gap.
Kirksville might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Hannibal when the teams last played last Thursday. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
