After both having extra time off, the Mansfield Christian Flames and the New London Wildcats will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Considering both teams were shutout in their prior games, the pair is probably coming into this one with something to prove.
Mansfield Christian is headed into Thursday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight matches on Thursday. They came up short against Ashland, falling 3-0.
The match finished with set scores of 25-16, 25-16, 25-11.
Meanwhile, New London lost 3-0 to St. Paul on Thursday.
New London was held off the scoreboard, but that almost wasn't the case: they kept the third set very close. The final score came out to 25-18, 25-12, 25-23.
Mansfield Christian will have to keep a close watch on Ava Ringler and Hailie Pylant, a pair of players who had a big impact on New London's prior game. Ringler had 14 digs and two assists, while Pylant had nine digs and one assist. Ringler has been hot for a while, having posted ten or more digs the last 14 times she's played.
Mansfield Christian's loss dropped their record down to 11-11. As for New London, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 11-11.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Mansfield Christian has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.8 aces per game. However, it's not like New London struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mansfield Christian came up short against New London when the teams last played back in September, falling 2-0. Can the Flames avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
