ST. LOUIS, Mo. -  The Stephens Stars dominated Harris-Stowe State University in straight sets (25-20, 25-10, 25-9) Thursday evening, marking their sixth conference victory of the season. Stephens improved to 11-14 overall and 6-1 in conference play, while Harris-Stowe fell to 4-19 and 0-8.

Led by Jamie Russell's 9 kills and Amari Branch-Autman's efficient .462 hitting percentage with 7 kills, Stephens overpowered the Hornets from the start. Setter Emma Whitson orchestrated the offense with 31 assists, contributing 2 kills and an ace, bringing her just 19 assists away from reaching 1,000 for her collegiate career at Stephens.

The Stars battled through a competitive first set, using a late surge fueled by back-to-back kills from Makenna Bollinger to pull away 25-20. 

Stephens took full control in the second set, racing out to a 10-5 lead with a kill by Izzy Benson and a service ace from Bree Zimmerman. The Stars cruised to a 25-10 win behind Branch-Autman and Russell's relentless attack.

In the third set, Stephens dominated from the outset, surging to an 8-1 lead with a string of service aces from Tatum Frank and clean hitting from Rylee Collins. The Hornets struggled to respond, and Russell closed the match with a kill to seal the 25-9 set win.

The Stars return to action on October 29 at 6 p.m., hosting (RV) Missouri Baptist for Club Night at Silverthorne Arena.