Eagles fall in district final

For the third year in a row, Avon’s postseason run was cut short by St. Joseph Academy in the Division I Grafton District final as the Eagles lost, 3-1, Oct. 28 at Midview.

The Eagles fell behind early, losing the first two sets before powering their way to a 25-22 win in the third, and had all the momentum after a big service run gave them 10-5 lead in set four. But, ultimately, Avon struggled to match up with a St. Joseph team that used size and power to its advantage and couldn’t overcome some late-game mistakes. Avon finishes 21-3. While the team is certainly disappointed with yet another district runner-up finish, Coach Julie Bendzuck chalked it up to simply getting beat by a better team and truly felt her players gave it their all in an effort that came up just a little short.

“I think we played pretty darn good. That’s what I think,” Bendzuck said. “I think one thing we had a difficult time matching up with, honestly, was the size. We had a good game plan, the kids executed it, but our game plan could not be to grow three inches or six inches or whatever it is. I’m not saying that as an excuse but that’s a reality of the game.

“When the sets are so tight ... it’s going to come down to who’s winning the longer rallies. There were areas of the match where we were playing really, really hard and then we fell really, really short, so, I mean, I’m proud of what they did. I think we got beat by a better team.”

The gritty Avon defense was on display yet again as the Eagles racked up over 80 digs throughout the course of the match. Senior Erin Gardner, who’s headed to Kent State next season to join the Flashes

volleyball team, had a teamhigh 27 digs while Maddy Jerdonek had 22, Alex Laboy 16 and Zoe Gadomski 14.

Offensively, the Eagles weren’t as clean as they’ve been in the past.

Gillian Romanchok led with 16 kills, Katie Koziarz, Emma Abfall and Sydney Stone each had nine and Katie Sopko had eight, but St. Joseph’s strong net presence got into the heads of Avon’s players a little bit, forcing some uncharacteristic hitting errors, and the battle between swinging away and placing the ball became too much.

“I think just overall we just weren’t able to terminate at the level we’ve been able to terminate because defensively (St. Joseph) is a very strong unit,” Bendzuck said. “There really isn’t a weakness on their floor, so you have to play smart but you also have to play aggressively and that’s a hard balance to have which is why I think we had so many hitting errors.”

There’s been steady improvement over the course of the past three district finals, however.

This is the first year the Eagles haven’t been swept by St. Joseph in the finals and the first year they’ve scored 20plus points in three sets, and Bendzuck said that’s all credit to the team-first mentality she’s been harping on over the years.

“In the first, second and third sets there were plenty of opportunities where old Avon volleyball would’ve curled up in a ball and quit,” Bendzuck said. “These kids, they just talked about it, it was almost as if they came together more when things were getting more difficult and that’s what I’m the most proud of. All year we’ve talked about the team. It’s all about the team.”