The New Albany Eagles will face off against the Olentangy Liberty Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
New Albany came up short against Pickerington North on Thursday, falling 3-0. The Eagles have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meeting.
While New Albany had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 21 points in every set they played. The final score came out to 25-22, 25-21, 25-22.
Meanwhile, Olentangy Liberty was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were a single set away from ending the streak, but they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Hilliard Davidson. While the Patriots didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Wildcats 25-19 in the first set.
Olentangy Liberty wouldn't go down easily and took Hilliard Davidson into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking two-point loss. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 19-25, 25-21, 25-13, 23-25, 16-14.
New Albany will have to keep a close watch on Vihaan Soni and Andrew Mulyadi, a pair of players who had a big impact on Olentangy Liberty's prior game. Soni had 20 digs and one assist, while Mulyadi had nine digs. Soni has been hot recently, having posted 12 or more digs the last three times he's played.
New Albany's defeat dropped their record down to 9-7. As for Olentangy Liberty, their loss dropped their record down to 10-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's game: New Albany has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 6.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Olentangy Liberty 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. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.
