Avila Handles Baptist Bible in Home Victory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a tight opening couple of frames, Avila volleyball (6-14) kicked things into gear in all phases in the final two sets en route to a comfortable four-set victory over Baptist Bible College (9-12) on Wednesday night in Mabee Fieldhouse.

The two teams split a pair of 25-22 scorelines over the first two frames to even the match at a set apiece before the Eagles really got into a groove in all aspects of the match: Avila's offense rebounded after a poor second set to commit only six attacking errors over the final two frames, while the Eagles clamped down on BBC on the other side, suffocating any chance that the Patriots might rally in the third or fourth sets like they did in the second.

Avila got off to a blistering start to the match with setter Daphne Gardner teeing up four kills from three different players to help Avila score the night's first five points. BBC rallied back in a hurry, however, tying the set up at six and setting the tone for what was a close set from then on. BBC took its first serious lead at 13-10 but then Avila stormed back with four straight points, two of which came on blocks involving Siobhan Dittmer, to go back in front 18-15, and the Eagles never gave the lead back up: Gardner notched a kill and then set up Sydney Owens for one of her own to give Avila a 25-22 win to start the night.

After BBC gained a slight edge to start the second set Avila seized control, getting four kills from Phoebe Riddle as part of a 7-0 Eagle run, giving them a commanding 15-7 lead. Well, it seemed commanding at the time, but the Patriots were allowed to climb back into the set because Avila's offense started to sputter: BBC scored nine straight points, nearly all on Avila errors, to come all the way back and grab a 21-18 lead.

The Eagles regained their composure and went back in front 22-21 thanks to a pair of Abigail Blake service aces, but the Patriots notched four straight kills to surge back and claim the second set 25-22 and even the match at a set apiece.

There would be no comebacks out of BBC the rest of the night as the Eagles completely locked in as a team down the stretch. Leading 7-5 early in the third set, Gardner set up Dittmer for three straight kills, part of an 8-2 Eagle run overall, to extend Avila's lead to 15-7. BBC only got as close as five before Riddle delivered consecutive kills to keep Avila ahead, and it was only a matter of time before the Eagles closed out the set on their first chance, winning 25-16.

The fourth set was fairly close early before the Eagles made the first big move, an 8-1 run overall kickstarted on the serve of Kyleighn Block. BBC only scored three more points in the match after that point and Avila never trailed in the fourth and final set: the Patriots staved off one match point but Paige Gillund set up Riddle for the game-sealing kill on the second try, wrapping up the fourth set 25-14 and giving the Eagles a resounding four-set win at home.

Summer Kenney led all players with 13 kills for Baptist Bible, and Sarah Purcell had a nice game out of the middle with nine kills on .217 hitting. Diamond Sedlak led Avila with one of her strongest games of the season, 12 kills on a flat .250 clip along with five block assists; Riddle added 10 kills; Dittmer had nine on .316 hitting with seven block assists; Garnder had a double-double along with eight kills and a solo block; and Blake tallied a match-high 30 digs – her third game with 30 or more in the last four tries – along with a whopping six aces.

The win gives Avila back-to-back victories for the first time this season ahead of a crucial stretch run in conference play this season. Up next, Avila returns to KCAC play with a road match this Saturday, October 21, against Tabor. JV gets the action started at 3 PM with varsity to follow at 5; as always, you can watch all the action on the KCAC Network.