Sprinfield, MO – Stephens College volleyball split a pair of matches Friday at AGFinancial Arena, earning a five-set victory over Southwestern College before falling to host Evangel University in three sets.
Match 1: Stars 3, Jinx 2
The Stars opened the day with a hard-fought five-set victory over Southwestern, overcoming a slow start to earn the 3-2 win.
Southwestern controlled the opening set, taking a 25-10 victory, but Stephens responded in the second. The Stars battled to a 26-24 win to even the match at one set apiece.
After Southwestern regained the advantage with a 25-21 victory in the third, Stephens answered once again. The Stars took the fourth set 25-23 to force a decisive fifth frame.
The final set featured four ties and three lead changes as the two teams battled down the stretch. Stephens ultimately came out on top, 16-14, to secure the five-set victory and improve to 2-8 on the season.
Mercedes Britto led the Stephens attack with 11 kills while hitting an impressive .474. Anna Bradley also recorded 11 kills, while Michalina Oles added 10. Jocelyn Rios chipped in eight kills, and Alyssa Jackson finished with six.
Audrey Dinwiddie directed the Stars' offense with 38 assists while adding two service aces. Defensively, Danika Brase led the way with 29 digs, while Alanis Francelino recorded 17. Stephens also totaled 14 block assists, with Jackson contributing five and Oles adding three.
Match 2: Stars 0, Valor 3
Stephens closed out the day against host Evangel, falling in straight sets, 25-9, 25-13 and 25-19.
The Stars struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the opening two sets, hitting .031 in the first and .069 in the second. Stephens found more success in the third, recording 12 kills with just three errors for a .300 hitting percentage, but Evangel held on for the 25-19 victory to complete the sweep.
Jocelyn Rios, Anna Bradley and Michalina Oles each led Stephens with six kills. Bradley was the Stars' most efficient attacker, hitting .333 with just one error on 15 attempts.
Dinwiddie finished with 21 assists and added a service ace, while Brase led the defensive effort with 14 digs. Syerra Mitchell and Francelino each contributed seven digs.
Stephens finished the match with 27 kills and 38 digs. The Stars ended the day with a 2-9 overall record.
