Eagles win fourth consecutive volleyball district championship

The Avon Eagles have been a lot of things during this volleyball season: defending state champions; very young; sometimes injured. But there’s one thing they weren’t for a stretch and that’s themselves.

Having graduated six seniors from last year’s championship team, early in the season the Eagles were trying to establish just who they were. Then, there was a series of injuries—most notably to leading hitter Clare Freaney—that provided a whole new set of hurdles.

As a result, Avon lost nine matches during the regular season, a number that is higher than expected for a program that has developed into the strongest in Lorain County. But the postseason provides a new beginning, a chance to right some wrongs that may have occurred.

Such was the case Wednesday, as the Eagles faced a familiar foe in a Division II district final at Medina, Southwestern Conference rival North Ridgeville. Avon defeated the Rangers in both regular-season matchups, but each time the Eagles were down two sets to one and had to fight back to win in five sets, and that was against a team that finished in seventh place in SWC action.

“We were excited to have the opportunity to play them again because the first two times we played them, we didn’t feel like we played our best,” said coach Kara Stergiou. “This time it’s kind of like we had our lineup and our rotation and our groove of what’s been working. So, it was nice to see how that would measure up against a team that we’ve played twice already.”

Mission accomplished, as Avon swept past North Ridgeville, 25-16, 25-16, 27-25, to win its fourth consecutive district title and move to 15-9 on the season. Next up for the Eagles is a regional semifinal at Ravenna High School on Wednesday against Wadsworth, a team that took Avon to five sets last year in a regional final.

According to junior libero Ally Brediger, the Eagles were motivated not only by the desire to show who they really are, but also because they don’t want the season to end.

“This time we were definitely more prepared, and I also feel like this time there was more to lose,” she said. “We all really love each other, and we’ve had so much fun this season. We just wanted to fight for everybody, even the players who are injured and not playing. We all really want to win, so this time we were more determined to come out and show them that we are better than what we showed them before.”

That determination was apparent right from the start. In both regular-season matchups the Rangers took the first set, forcing Avon to dig itself out of a hole. This time the Eagles jumped to a 7-2 lead and never trailed in the first two sets. In the first, North Ridgeville battled back to tie the score at 11, but Avon then went on a 9-1 run to take control of the set.

A big part Avon’s victory was that the Eagles had a huge advantage in serving. Not only did they have 11 aces, but they also only made one error in 50 attempts on serve reception. Freshman Maryn Maxey led the way with four aces—all in the third set—and Brediger had three during the 9-1 run in the first set.

“In every single practice we work on serving,” Brediger said. “That’s something that coach is really big on because you need to serve aggressively in games like this. We all have worked really hard on our serves.”

According to Stergiou, that focus on serving became necessary early in the season.

“We definitely have focused a lot on serving this year because at the beginning of the season we were missing a lot of serves,” she said. “That’s definitely a focus at practice for us.”

The second set was tied at four before Avon went on 7-0 run with Lauren Bauer serving. The Rangers never got closer than five for the remainder of the set. Freaney, who led all players with 17 kills, had five during the 7-0 run.

North Ridgeville jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third set, but the Eagles didn’t panic and methodically worked their way back into the set. Down 9-4, the Eagles ran off six consecutive points, with three aces by Maxey helping the cause. The teams then traded points until the score was tied at 25. A setting error by the Rangers gave Avon a 26-25 lead, and then Freaney came up with her 17th and final kill of the match, the third consecutive set that she ended with a kill.

“She’s very consistent,” Stergiou said of the 6-foot-2 sophomore. “If she makes mistakes, she very easily shakes it off and she definitely has a kill ball mentality out there. She doesn’t get into her head very often, and that’s awesome. She definitely controls a lot of the energy for our girls. She’s super positive and a great leader on the court.”

The district title is not only the fourth in a row for Avon, but it makes six in a row for Stergiou, who reached regional play in her final two years at Vermilion before coming to Avon.

“We’re very excited,” she said. “It’s a very cool opportunity for all of us, and we’re excited to move on to the regional championships.”