Two things had to go right for Tinley Park on Tuesday to get a share of the South Suburban Blue title.

The Titans had to beat host Oak Lawn, and Lemont had to lose to Shepard.

Tinley Park junior Vejune Sidaugaite came in promising to do all that she could do. And to that end, she stood tall.

Real tall.

Sidaugaite was seemingly a wall for the Titans in their 25-9, 25-22 victory.

The 5-foot-10 middle hitter had a team-high five blocks. Jackie Alberto added eight kills and three blocks, Tyler Bearden had six kills and three blocks, Kasey Nolan contributed 18 assists and Kasey Brennan added three kills for Tinley Park (28-5, 12-1).

The Titans didn't get their double play. Lemont beat Shepard to win the conference title.

But Tinley Park still made its mark in program history.

“This is our best record in conference so far,” Brennan said. “That's kind of better, and makes us happy.”

Brennan did her share to see them through with two big kills late in Game 2 to snuff out an Oak Lawn rally from a 21-14 deficit.

“Those kills felt pretty good,” a smiling Brennan said. “We talked (after the first game) about staying focused, but sometimes it just gets away from you. You just have to stay calm, stay in control.”

Sidaugaite, meanwhile, provided a big share of the 13 blocks that Titans used to take big early leads in both games.

“We worked a lot (Monday) on our blocking,” Sidaugaite said. “We work a lot on it every day. As long as I had my timing right, the blocking (against Oak Lawn) was easy.”

Sidaugaite — the team leader in blocks for the season — is a deceptive force, according to Titans coach Lee Rucinski.

“She's one of our hardest workers,” Rucinski said. “You look at her and you probably think she's not our best blocker. But her technique and her attitude that she's going to own that net has really shown this year.”

Amanda Bulow led Oak Lawn (24-6, 10-3) with five kills, while Taylor Bulow had six assists, Camryn Landingham added six digs and Alexa Lopez served five aces.

Despite the loss, Spartans coach Dennis McNamara still had some good news for his Spartans, who won the South Suburban Red title outright by one game over Shepard and Richards.

“We're real proud of that,” McNamara said. “The girls have worked hard. It's a great group. We still need to get over that mental hurdle of, ‘When we walk into the gym we expect to win.' We still have some ground to cover there, and we have to figure it out by (regionals) next week.”

De La Salle 25-25, Latin 23-19: Taylor Duddleston contributed 12 kills and 15 assists to pace De La Salle.

Joliet Catholic 25-25, Carmel 19-21: Emily Holbrook and Taylor Zurliene had nine kills each for JCA (19-15-1, 3-4 ESCC).

Lemont 25-23-25, Shepard 14-25-20: Gemma Cantone had 11 kills and eight assists in guiding Lemont (22-13, 13-0 SSC Blue) to the conference championship.

Lincoln-Way East 25-25, Lockport 12-19: Molly Hackett generated six kills and six assists for East (27-8, 4-1 SWSC Blue).

Lincoln-Way West 25-25, Thornridge 9-5: Michelle Allen dished out 20 assists as West (22-13, 6-0 SWSC Red) completed an undefeated conference slate.

Marian Catholic 22-25-25, Nazareth 25-17-11: Temitayo Thomas compiled 17 kills and six digs to power Marian (24-9, 4-3 ESCC)..

Marist 25-25, St. Viator 21-11: Meg Krasowski (5 blocks) had seven kills and Molly Murrihy tacked on 23 assists for Marist (26-8, 5-1 ESCC).

Oak Forest 25-25, Argo 15-17: Sabrina Baxa's seven kills and five digs propelled Oak Forest (15-19, 10-3 SSC Blue).

Sandburg 25-25, Bolingbrook 5-15: Anna Jonynas had nine kills as Sandburg (24-10, 4-0 SWSC Blue) clinched at least a share of the conference title.

T.F. South 25-25, Eisenhower 16-18: Caitlyn Berry posted 16 assists and seven aces to lead T.F. South (13-18).

Providence 7, Joliet Catholic 0: Luke Picard's hat trick boosted Providence (10-8-1) in the Class 2A Lemont Regional semifinal.

St. Laurence 7, St. Rita 1: Gilberto Arreola scored four goals to lead host St. Laurence (13-4-3) in the Class 2A regional semifinal.

Christian Brothers (Tenn.) Buccaneer Invitational: Runner-up Braden Bently (229) closed with an 80 to lead first-place Lewis (932).

Christian Brothers (Tenn.) Buccaneer Invitational: Medalist Rachel Sweeney (231) shot a final-round 79 for champion Lewis (974).

St. Xavier 25-26-21-25, Roosevelt 25-24-25-20: Courtney Joyce had nine kills, 26 assists and 12 digs to propel St. Xavier (18-15, 9-3 CCAC North). Rory Manion tacked on 14 kills.

Trinity Christian 29-25-25, Calumet 27-10-6: Sarah Bushrow had 10 kills for Trinity Christian (18-13, 9-3 CCAC South).

Sullivan makes waves: Lewis' Shannon Sullivan was named GLVC Women's Swimmer of the Week.

Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed.

abaranek@tribpub.com