Baker hasn't had much luck against Choctawhatchee recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Gators will head out to challenge the Indians at 6:00 p.m. Choctawhatchee took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Baker, who comes in off a win.
Baker 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 came out on top against Jay by a score of 3-1.
Baker 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 15-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Choctawhatchee and South Walton meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Thursday. The Indians took a 3-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Seahawks. While the Indians didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Seahawks 25-12 in the first set.
Choctawhatchee started the match hot and won the first set, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The final score came out to 12-25, 25-19, 25-20, 26-24.
Baker will have to keep a close watch on Avery Thigpen and Mikah Bandy, a pair of players who had a big impact on Choctawhatchee's prior game. Thigpen had 16 digs and three aces, while Bandy had 12 digs and two aces. Bandy has been hot recently, having posted two or more aces the last three times she's played.
Baker's victory bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Choctawhatchee, their loss dropped their record down to 9-12.
Baker suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Choctawhatchee in their previous meeting on September 4th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Thigpen, who had eight digs and four aces. Now that the Gators know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
