Stephens College volleyball rallied from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth set but came up just short in a 3-2 loss at Haskell on Saturday afternoon. Set scores were 25-20, 25-17, 13-25, 20-25, 15-10.

After dropping the opening two frames, the Stars came alive in the third, hitting .321 as a team and cruising to a 25-13 win. Stephens carried that momentum into the fourth set, producing a match-best .378 hitting percentage to even the contest at 2-2. The final set was tightly contested before Haskell closed on a late run to secure the win.

The Stars finished with 54 kills and hit .195 on the afternoon, highlighted by strong play across the front row. Makenna Bollinger posted a team-high 14 kills, while Amari Branch-Autman tallied 10 kills, two solo blocks, and two block assists for 14.5 points. Aaleah Woodard added eight kills, and Fernanda Izar chipped in six on an efficient .375 hitting percentage.

Duru Eriz provided a spark off the bench with seven kills, and setter Emma Whitson guided the offense with 38 assists and 12 digs for a double-double. Lena Hunziker anchored the back row with a team-high 20 digs, while libero Kiley Smetzer contributed 18.

The Stars return to action in their Home Opener on Tuesday, September 9th, at 6:00pm in Silverthorne Area to face off against Evangel University.