Hannibal, MO - Stephens College volleyball battled through five sets Tuesday afternoon, coming away with a 3-2 road victory over Hannibal-LaGrange University. The Stars won by scores of 25-17, 20-25, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-13, improving to 6-13 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
Stephens opened the match strong, taking control of the first set for a 25-17 win. Hannibal-LaGrange responded in the next two frames, evening the match with a 25-20 second-set victory before edging the Stars 25-23 in the third to take a 2-1 advantage.
With the match on the line, Stephens answered in the fourth. The Stars fought their way to a 25-23 win to force a deciding fifth set. Stephens then closed out the back-and-forth match with a 15-13 victory in the fifth to secure the road win.
Michalina Oles led the Stars offensively with 12 kills while adding five block assists and a service ace for a team-high 15.5 points. Jocelyn Rios followed with 10 kills, while Alyssa Jackson contributed eight kills and five block assists. Mercedes Brito added five kills and was a force at the net with two solo blocks and four block assists.
Audrey Dinwiddie directed the Stephens offense with 33 assists and also recorded 22 digs. Danika Brase added 20 digs, while Alanis Francelino finished with 14 digs and six service aces. Sabrina Rodriguez added 13 digs and seven aces as the Stars totaled 14 service aces on the afternoon.
Stephens' defense at the net also played a key role in the victory, with the Stars recording two solo blocks and 18 block assists. Despite Hannibal-LaGrange holding the advantage in kills, Stephens capitalized at the service line and at the net to come away with the five-set road win.
