by KETTERING, Ohio—The Avon Eagles fought tooth and nail in the first final four appearance in volleyball program history Thursday, but in the end, they fell just short, dropping a five-set match to Whitehouse Anthony Wayne.
Playing in a Division II state semifinal at Kettering Fairmont’s Trent Arena, the Eagles stood toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in the state, only to fall by the scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-6. Avon’s season ends at 24-3, while Anthony Wayne will face the winner of the other semifinal between Wadsworth and Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy at 11 am Saturday at Wright State University.
““We definitely fought really hard,” said Avon coach Kara Coffman. “Anthony Wayne is a really good team, and we almost had them. This is a great group of girls. Bringing them down here was so much fun. We’re really grateful for the journey. There’s been nothing but excitement. We’ve had lots of fun the last couple days. They really played their hearts out today, so there’s nothing to not be proud of.”
It was an unusual coaching decision by Anthony Wayne’s Chrissy Graven that may have spelled the difference in the final set. The teams were quite evenly matched throughout the first four sets, but suddenly, in the fifth set, the Generals jumped to leads of 4-1, 6-2 and 11-4, and the Eagles were never able to recover.
Entering the final set, Graven switched the positions of her starters, figuring it would give her team an advantage. That decision proved to be the difference maker. Both teams had a threesome of big hitters, and all are underclassmen. Anthony Wayne had Mallory Pike (32 kills), Leah Pike (18 kills) and Charley Gardner (13 kills) and the Eagles countered with Londyn Stone (25 kills), Lily Hamilton (14 kills) and Bethany Sherwood (12 kills).
““We had been starting in rotation three in sets one through four, and Mallory was on fire,” said Graven. “This was the first time all season we’ve gone five sets. We started in rotation five, with Mallory on the left side of the front row. That way we got her up front for three rotations and it also gave us a good matchup with our tallest blocker on the right against their best hitter (Stone). It worked out great in our favor.”
Coffman admitted that the switch caught her off-guard, calling it a lesson learned. Mallory Pike only had three kills in the final set, but the Eagles were so aware of her that it left openings for her teammates. Twin sister Leah Pike took advantage with four kills, including the one that concluded the match, and Gardner also had four kills.
“In that fifth set, the other coach was very smart in that she rotated her starting lineup so that the matchups were a little bit different,” Coffman said. “We did a really good job shutting down (Leah Pike), and (Mallory Pike) was the one who was really hot out there and getting lots of kills. So, she switched the matchups, and it really benefited them. I submitted my lineup first.”
Ironically, when the Eagles battled back to take the fourth set, it appeared to be just what Avon wanted, as the program has become known for winning five-set matches.
““This is the first time we’ve lost a fifth set in two years,” said Coffman. “I was like, ‘Yes, fifth set.’ But we got off to a slow start.”
While the rest of the match was tight and intense, the Eagles still came up just short, bringing an end to their season with a 24-3 record.
“This is a great group of girls,” Coffman said. “They had a great season and I’m just so thankful for them for making this coaching experience so delightful and so great. I’m really going to miss this group of seniors and their leadership. This group is really, really easy to coach and easy to be around.”
