The Shepard Astros will venture away from home to face off against the Oak Lawn Spartans at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Oak Lawn took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Shepard, who comes in off a win.
Shepard took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They came out on top against Thornton Fractional South by a score of 2-0.
While Shepard won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the 0th set they played. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-15.
Meanwhile, Oak Lawn came up short against Providence Catholic on Saturday and fell 2-0. The Spartans have struggled against the Celtics recently, as their game on Saturday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
While Oak Lawn had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 16 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-16.
Shepard's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-6. As for Oak Lawn, their loss dropped their record down to 16-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Tuesday's matchup: Shepard has serving mastered this season, having averaged 5.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Oak Lawn struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.1. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Shepard came up short against Oak Lawn in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 2-0. Can Shepard 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
