Three top-of-the-table clashes headline Round 13 of the Victorian Netball League, as pressure heats-up approaching the finals series.
It’s one v two in the Championship Division with the Melbourne University Lightning hosting the DC North East Blaze.
With just one win separating the two teams on the ladder, and a wealth of national league talent within both teams, the match will be hotly contested.
The two teams played recently, back in Round 8, with the Lightning victors 52-47.
The match-up of Ella Bayliss from the Blaze at Wing Attack, and Elle Bennetts for the Lightning at Wing Defence, provided a thrilling encounter in their last match, and will be a contest to watch again this week.
Division One sees a third v fourth clash, with the City West Falcons hosting the Wilson Storage Southern Saints at Altona Sports Centre.
The Falcons sit two wins clear of the Saints, who are on equal points with the Monash University Storm and Ariels.
These two teams also met last in Round 8, with the City West Falcons seven-goal victors, 60-53.
In their last match is was a battle of the shooters, with the Falcons’ Tharjini Sivalingan and the Saints’ Ella Quinlan involved in a shootout.
Sivalingan shot 30 goals for the match, whilst Quinlan scored 29, with just one goal separating the two, and both players boasting shooting percentages in the nineties.
It will come down to the wire again this round.
The DC North East Blaze and Melbourne University Lightning will be involved in another top four clash, with the Blaze sitting third and the Lightning fourth on the 19/U ladder.
The last time the two teams played it was a thriller, with the Blaze two-goal victors over the Lightning, 46-44.
The round kicks off on Wednesday night with the Lightning taking on the Blaze, and the Geelong Cougars taking on the Ariels, and finishes on Sunday with the Falcons hosting the Saints.
