Volleyball Preview: Lindale Eagles vs. Gilmer Buckeyes
Lindale has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Gilmer Buckeyes at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Lindale is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Lufkin just ended the team's 13-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 3-2. While the Eagles didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Panthers 25-9 in the first set.
Lindale started the match hot and won the first two sets, but they struggled down the stretch and lost the last three. The match finished with set scores of 9-25, 13-25, 25-20, 28-26, 16-14.
Even though they lost, Lindale was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in 13 consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Gilmer's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of Henderson by a score of 3-2. While the Buckeyes didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Lions 25-20 in the first set.
Gilmer was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Henderson work for it, especially in the second set. The match finished with set scores of 20-25, 27-25, 25-18, 17-25, 15-7.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Brie Jones, who had 20 digs and three aces. That's the most aces she has posted since back in October.
Lindale's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 37-8. As for Gilmer, their defeat dropped their record down to 22-16.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's game: Lindale has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Gilmer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lindale came out on top in a nail-biter against Gilmer when the teams last played back in August of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Will Lindale repeat their success, or does Gilmer have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
