Masuk is 0-10 against Joel Barlow since April of 2022 but things could change on Thursday. The Panthers will square off against the Falcons at 5:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Masuk is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: Pomperaug, who was ranked 17th at the time (Masuk was ranked 11th). Masuk walked away with a 3-1 win over Pomperaug on Tuesday. Masuk hasn't had any issues with Pomperaug recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Masuk had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-22.
Among those leading the charge was Nathan Kurkoski, who had 41 assists and 12 digs. What's more, he posted three kills, the most he's had over his last six matches.
Meanwhile, Joel Barlow had already won nine in a row and they went ahead and made it ten on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Nighthawks by a score of 3-1. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
While Joel Barlow might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Newtown scored at least 18 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18.
Joel Barlow pushed their record up to 16-4 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. As for Masuk, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Masuk has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.1 aces per game. However, it's not like Joel Barlow struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Masuk might still be hurting after the 3-0 loss they got from Joel Barlow when the teams last played on May 5th. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
