Olathe, KS — Stephens opened the 2025 season on the road and fell in four sets to MidAmerica Nazarene, 21–25, 16–25, 25–23, 16–25, at the Cook Center.

After the Pioneers claimed the first two frames, the Stars answered with their cleanest set of the night, hitting .227 in the third to win 25–23 and extend the match. That third set featured 10 ties and five lead changes, and Stephens closed it out with timely sideouts and first-ball kills. MidAmerica Nazarene finished the match in the fourth and improved to 2–2 while Stephens moved to 0–1.

Outside hitter Lena Hunziker led the way with 16 kills, three aces, and 15 digs for 19.0 points. Right side Makenna Bollinger added 12 kills and steadied the left-to-right balance, and opposite Amari Branch-Autman was efficient with seven kills on a .313 clip plus two blocks and an ace. Middle Fernanda Izar added five kills on 11 swings without an error and contributed three total blocks.

Setter Emma Whitson distributed 29 assists and collected 13 digs to help the back-row effort. Libero/DS Jatnna Peña-Pérez posted a team-high 17 digs and chipped in eight assists to fuel transition. The Stars matched the Pioneers with 68 digs, turned in five aces, and recorded 6.0 team blocks behind contributions from Michalina Oles (two solo, one assist) and Izar (one solo, two assists).

Up next, Stephens heads to the Missouri Valley Tournament in Marshall, Mo., with two matches on Friday, Aug. 29: Central Methodist at 9 a.m. CT and York University at 11:30 a.m. CT. The Stars return to the court on Saturday, Aug. 30 to face Grand View at 9 a.m. CT and John Brown at 4:30 p.m. CT.