Eagles Drop Road Contest with Stars

 COLUMBIA, Mo. – Despite a solid showing in the first set, Avila volleyball (2-4) was outslugged by the Stephens Stars (4-4) on Thursday night in Columbia, with the Stars winning the final three sets – all by slim scorelines – to defeat the Eagles in a contentious four-set match.

All four sets on Thursday were extremely close – the largest winning margin in any of the frames was four points – but the Stars' offense was a little more effective than the Eagles' was, powered by two stellar games from Stephens' middle hitters.

The Stars were the first team to seize control in the first set Thursday, turning a 6-6 tie into a 17-10 lead before the Eagles rallied to within 17-14 after a pair of service aces by Abigail Blake, forcing a Stephens timeout. The Stars then scored the next four out of the timeout before the Eagles answered with three, forcing another Stephens timeout at 21-17.

The Stars ultimately were the first to reach a set point chance at 24-21, but the Eagles did not give in: Maddie Jones kickstarted the comeback with a kill, then Daphne Gardner delivered an ace, Chelsea Schatzer fired in two kills, and Diamond Sedlak finished it off with a termination – the Eagles won the final five points to win the first set 26-24.

Avila started strong in set two with a 10-7 edge before Stephens spun things around to lead 16-13. Later, trailing by five, Sedlak fired in two crucial aces to get Avila back within one, 23-22. Avila saved one set point with a Jones kill before Jamie Russell finished things off on the Stars' second chance, wrapping up a 25-23 win.

The third set was dead even early until Stephens scored three straight to go up 11-8, and Avila canceled that out immediately with three straight to tie it back up. The Stars then seized control, scoring eight of the next ten to grab a big lead. A service ace from Gardner helped the Eagles get back within three, but Stephens held strong to win the third set 25-21.

After set four was tied up at 10 apiece, the Eagles were the first team to seize control – Avila led by as many as five multiple times after a block by Gardner and Phoebe Riddle, ultimately building a lead as large as 21-16. But this time, the Stars were the team to rally late, scoring five straight to grab a late lead. Sedlak chipped in two clutch kills to keep the Eagles alive, but Stephens fired in two kills to wrap up a 26-24 win and a four-set victory.

Russell had a stellar game, hitting a flat .500 and leading all players with 20 kills. Jones paced the Eagles with 13 kills and 19 digs in another double-double performance; Sedlak continued her strong serving with five aces; Blake led all players with 28 digs.

Up next, the Eagles will head north to Iowa to face a strong pair of teams in a tri at Morningside on Saturday. Avila will first take on reigning NAIA champions Jamestown at 3 PM before facing the host Mustangs at 5; details on how to watch and follow along can be found on our new website, avilaathletics.com.