Stars Cruise to AMC Semifinals

Columbia, Mo. - The Stars comfortably prolonged their season Tuesday evening, defeating Central Baptist College (Ark.) 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-21). The Stars (20-10, 6-3) outlasted the Mustangs (14-13, 4-5) for the second time this season, both occurrences in straight sets. 

After Central Baptist found the scoreboard first, Stephens wasted no time setting the tone for the evening, embarking on a 7-0 run that was aided by a Genevieve Nickelson service ace. The remainder of the first set was defined by Stars' dominance as the Mustangs never came within five points of the victors. 

Another ace from Isabelle Benson's service, along with 12 team kills, put the Stars up 21-11 in the opener. Then, three CBC errors and a Benson kill ended set one in favor of the Stars. 

The evening was not over for the Mustangs, however, as the visitors kept the pace with SC for the majority of the second stanza. The team's only service ace of the second set gave them a momentary 4-3 advantage, but a kill by Lena Hunziker sparked a run of four straight points for the Stars, giving them a lead that wouldn't be relinquished. 

Although CBC earned the next pair of points, Stephens went on yet another run, this time scoring six in a row capped off by a kill off an attack by Jamie Russell, making it 13-6. The rest of the second period was a rather back-and-forth affair, but SC's seven-point advantage would stay intact as things finished 25-18. 

The third set established itself by mimicking the second but in a slightly different manner. An error and back-to-back kills swiftly gave the Stars a 3-0 edge, but the Mustangs took off on their longest stretch of points of the evening, taking a 4-3 lead. 

From then on, the rest of the third period saw 10 ties and seven lead changes, and neither team garnered an advantage of more than two points. That's until things knotted up at 18 apiece when a CBC error sandwich between two kills gave the Stars a 21-18 edge they would not surrender. 

In a last-gasp effort, the Mustangs took three of the next four points, narrowing the gap to 22-21. Stephens then benefited from two successive errors from Central Baptist, and a Benson ace clinched Tuesday evening's postseason match. 

The Stars travel east to St. Louis for the AMC Semifinal matchup against regular season runners-up Columbia College on Friday, Nov. 10. The tournament's remainder will be hosted by the one-seed Missouri Baptist as action begins at 6:30 p.m. from inside the Carl & Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex. 

Statistical Leaders

• Isabelle Benson: 12 Kills, 10 Digs
• Jamie Russell: 10 Kills
• Lena Hunziker: 15 digs, 7 Kills
• Emma Whitson: 18 assists, 5 digs
• Avery Hays: 16 assists, 10 digs