Volleyball team opens state defense with sweep of Highland

Different faces, same result. At least, that’s the plan for Avon’s girls volleyball team.

The Eagles opened the season Saturday by hosting Highland, fresh off winning not only the first state title in program history, but also county history. Six seniors graduated from that championship squad—including two All-Ohioans—but lots of talent returns, as Avon demonstrated by sweeping the Hornets.

The Eagles rarely trailed and finished things off by the scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-16. They were led by sophomore Clare Freaney with 13 kills and a solo block and sophomore Ellie Husk, who had a strong all-around game with six digs, four kills, two aces and one solo block. Classmate Janelle Antrum also stood out with three aces and four assists.

“I feel like we all did really well,” said junior libero Ally Brediger, who, along with Freaney, is a returning starter. “We’ve been preparing for this, and I feel like coming off of last season and winning states, it kind of helps us to come in strong this year, kind of like the tone was already set last year. I feel like that helped us be ready for this year, and we all just want to get as far as we can this year, too.”

As defending state champions in Division II, Avon won’t be sneaking up on anybody this year. Highland is a team that went 19-7 last year, reaching a Division III regional semifinal before falling to Akron Hoban.

“I just told the girls to come in with a lot of confidence,” said coach Cara Stergiou. “This is the first game for both teams. I know it can be nerve-wracking but turn those nerves into confidence. We’re really excited to open with them. That’s a really good team and playing them is only going to make us better. They made us earn every single point. They were super-scrappy, and they sent everything back over.”

The match was relatively tight until two things became apparent: the Eagles were clearly the better serving team, and Freaney was the best player on the floor. At 6-foot-2, she has the size to be a dominant hitter. However, it wasn’t until the second set that she really took over the match, with five of her kills coming during a 9-2 run that turned an 11-11 nailbiter into a comfortable lead for the hosts.

“Clare’s awesome,” Stergiou said. “She’s definitely a big hitter for us this year, and it’s really nice to see her embrace that role. She’s not somebody who can be easily shaken, and she definitely does not crumble under pressure. She’s very confident and she loves to play for her team.”

The serving advantage helped the Eagles win the opening set, as an ace by Husk sparked a 9-2 run by Avon that broke open a 6-6 tie. Kara Hricovec also had an ace during the run. Highland battled back to get within 18-14, but junior Julia Majerus had three of her eight kills during a 7-3 Avon run that ended the set.

The second set was similar in that the score was tight all the way up to 11-11. But then Antrum sandwiched an ace among three Freaney kills from the left side, sparking a 12-3 run that put the set out of reach. Again, the Hornets fought back to within 23-18, but the set ended on two service errors by Highland, one of 11 by the visitors to just five for Avon.

The Eagles threatened to run away and hide in the third set, jumping to a 6-1 lead. The Hornets never led in the set, but they once again put up a battle, cutting the margin to 8-6 before Avon hit an extended run of 14-5 to clinch the match.

“We lost a lot of seniors who were key players,” Brediger said. “But I feel like it kind of helps us, because we come in already with an expectation set for us, and we all want to meet that expectation. We just want to meet the standard of what we had last year. I feel like we have the ability to get exactly where we did last year. We have all the hard work, and we know what it takes to get there again. But I feel like we all can do that. We just know we have to work extra hard to get there again.”

Stergiou said there have been some issues with consistency during scrimmages, which is to be expected from a team that graduated so much talent. But clearly, the cupboard is not bare.

“I’ve told the girls we’re going to have to work much harder this year than we did last year,” Stergiou said. “But all the pieces are here for us to get to that same final game of the year. I truly believe that if we stay on this path and continue working hard, we can be state champs again.”