Oberlin has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will venture away from home to face off against the Independence Blue Devils at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Saturday, Oberlin made easy work of East Canton and carried off a 3-0 victory.
The final score came out to 25-12, 25-13, 25-18.
Natalie Tackett was nothing short of spectacular: she had 11 kills, ten digs, and eight aces. Those eight aces gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucinda Ulichney, who had four aces and three digs.
She wasn't the only good server: Oberlin was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 18 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Independence had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They were the clear victor by a 3-0 margin over Mapleton on Saturday. The win was nothing new for the Blue Devils as they're now sitting on three straight.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Independence took every set by at least 13 points. The match finished with set scores of 25-11, 25-8, 25-12.
Independence's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alberta Moreal led the charge by getting four digs and four aces. Moreal has been hot recently, having also posted 13 or more assists the last three times she's played. Sofia Pichert was another key player, getting seven digs and two aces.
Oberlin's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-15. As for Independence, their win was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's game: Oberlin has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 10.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Independence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 12.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Oberlin suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Independence when the teams last played back in October of 2018. Can Oberlin avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
