Eagles Shut Down Stars in Four-Set Win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a somewhat sluggish first set, Avila volleyball (6-7) kicked both the offense and defense into gear, reeling off the final three frames to defeat Stephens (4-5) in four sets on Wednesday night in Mabee Fieldhouse.

Wednesday's first set was a back and forth affair as both offense took some time to get in sync. Avila got out to a 9-6 lead but Stephens flipped the script, winning six of the next seven points to move ahead. An Addison Davis service ace tied things back up at 20 apiece, but the Stars then won the next four points and ultimately claimed the first set 25-22 on a kill by Jamie Russell.

Both teams hit south of .050 in the first frame but after that the Eagle offense took off, while the Star offense often stayed stuck on the tarmac. It was Stephens that got off to the superior start in set two, but the Eagles ripped off six straight points on the serve of Chase Kallevig, part of a 10-3 run overall, to seize control. Kelsey Johnson and D'Ovion Williams combined for ten kills, including the finishing blows on the final two points, helping the Eagles hit .359 as a team and win the set 25-18, leveling up the match.

Set three was tight early before Avila once again surged forward in the middle stages: Williams combined with Johnson and Shay Karmazyn for blocks and Phoebe Riddle delivered two kills to help Avila to a 9-2 run, building a 16-9 Eagle edge and forcing a Stephens timeout. The Stars rallied out of that stoppage and got back to within 19-17 before kills from Riddle and McKenzie Green stemmed the tide temporarily – Stephens finally tied the set back up at 23 apiece before Chloe Brundick delivered a setter kill and then set up Johnson for the winning kill, lifting Avila to a 25-23 win.

The Stars worked really hard to come back and nearly force extras in the third set, but they seemed somewhat out of gas by the middle of the fourth set. Trailing 3-2, Avila scored six straight points on Kallevig's serve to vault ahead, and the Eagles never looked back. Kyleighn Block punctuated a 7-0 run with a service ace, and though the Stars saved two match points one more Stephens attack error finally wrapped up the set 25-13, giving the Eagles the four-set win.

Avila hit .233 as a team over the final three sets, while Stephens hit in the negatives (more errors than kills) in set four, and hit just .075 as a team for the match – Avila out-blocked Stephens 9-3 in the match. Mallory Polk led the Stars with 15 digs and 14 kills, though she also had 110 errors, while a much more efficient Russell chipped in 12 kills.

On the other side, Avila libero Abigail Blake led all players with 20 digs; Brundick notched her fifth double-double of the season with 23 assists and 13 digs; Johnson finished with 12 kills while Riddle added a career-high eight on .333 hitting, and Williams was excellent again, finishing with a match-high 15 kills (her sixth time in double figures in her last seven matches) on .355 hitting with four block assists.

Up next, Avila volleyball will head out to Lawrence, Kansas for a triangular match hosted by Haskell Indian Nations. The Eagles will face Kansas Christian at 5 PM, and then face host Haskell at 7. Stay tuned to Avila Athletics on social media for updates and details on how to follow the matches live.