Axtell has been away from home for three games now, but on Tuesday they'll finally make their return. They will welcome the Bertrand Vikings at 6:00 p.m. Both are at an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but likely not for long.
Axtell is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Southern Valley just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell 2-0 to the Eagles.
Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-14, 25-17.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Saturday Bertrand sidestepped Wauneta-Palisade for a 2-1 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.
Bertrand had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next two. The final score came out to 19-25, 25-14, 25-20.
Bertrand can attribute much of their success to Gracie Hock, who had 11 digs.
Axtell's defeat dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Bertrand, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Axtell has really dialed in their serving game this season, having averaged 4.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Bertrand struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Axtell was able to grind out a solid win over Bertrand in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 3-1. Will Axtell repeat their success, or does Bertrand have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
