Eagles defeat Midview, named 8th seed in postseason tournament

Entering the final week of the regular season, Avon boys volleyball coach Adrian Lee is happy with where his team is but unhappy with where the Eagles have been placed.

Area coaches recently voted to determine the seeding for the upcoming postseason tournament, and Avon was seeded eighth despite having a 15-5 record following Monday’s dismantling of visiting Midview by the scores of 25-6, 25-13 and 25-8. Drawing the eighth seed means the Eagles won’t host a postseason match, as they open the tournament at Stow on May 13.

“I’m a little disappointed, but it is what it is,” Lee said. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, we’re probably playing the same teams we would have played anyway. We just aren’t hosting. But it’s a matter of respect.”

Lee said part of the problem was the team’s schedule, which had them playing several teams from outside of the region, including a handful from the Toledo area.

“We barely played any teams in our region,” he said. “Next year, I definitely want to change that. We played a lot of teams that are close to us. I understand that it’s hard to get a gauge of where everyone stands if you’re not playing each other.”

Midview is a team that Avon is very familiar with, as the Eagles swept them for the second time this season. Noah Mai led the way for the Eagles with nine kills, five aces and 12 digs. The freshman set the tone for the match right away, helping the hosts jump to a 5-0 lead by getting a kill and then serving four consecutive Avon points, including an ace.

“Noah was phenomenal,” Lee said. “He usually carries his weight around here. He really hit well. He was just confident. He was taking the ball. I really liked how he was moving to take the second ball. We’ve been trying to really work on that, just being confident taking the ball. He’s been doing a great job.”

Mai was backed by the play of Landon Gomez, who had seven kills, Logan Lam, with five kills and 13 assists, and Keegan Tarkany, who had four kills and 10 assists. The Eagles were very sharp on offense, as nearly 50 percent of their attacks resulted in a kill.

Avon also served well with 16 aces, led by Mai and Kyle Partridge, with five each. John Ling also had three aces and was a force at the net with four blocks, including three solos.

“I think they played well,” Lee said. “They were motivated. I talked to them before the match, and I was telling them we only have one week left. We’ve got to make every second count. We’re not practicing today. We’ve got to play hard today and just make sure we’re locked in for next week.”

After jumping to the 5-0 lead, the Eagles easily took the first set, as Midview’s six points all were a result of Avon errors. It appeared that the second set would be more competitive, as Midview held leads of 4-3, 6-4 and 8-7. A few points later it was still close, with the hosts holding a 10-9 lead. However, with Ling serving, Avon scored seven points in a row on the way to a 15-4 run to close the set. The third set followed a similar pattern, with the Middies jumping to a 4-1 lead on the way to a 6-6 tie. But then Avon closed the set on a 19-2 run.

The Eagles will next be in action Tuesday when they travel to John Marshall.