The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon comeback bid falls short to Highland
Avon coach Julie Bendzuck knew her team was facing a tough opponent in Medina Highland because the two teams played similar styles.
The second-seeded Eagles (192) trailed, 2-1, and rallied to take the fourth set before falling to sixth-seeded Highland (20-3) in
THE SCORE MEDINA HIGHLAND 3, AVON 2
five sets, 18-25, 25-15, 27-25, 1725, 15-12, in a Division I Northeast district semifinal.
Highland advances to a district final and will face fifthseeded St. Joseph Academy on Oct. 31.
“Highland and us are very similar,” Bendzuck said. “I think that we knew how to keep them
out of system, and we did it in the first set, then they figured out what to do to us in the second set. Their coach agreed with me that we are the exact same team. They made adjustments, and we were caught off-guard and our end result wasn’t very good.”
Avon got off to a slow start in the first set, committing five service errors but ultimately won the set, 25-18. The second set didn’t go so well for the Eagles, as Highland led for the duration and took the set, 25-15.
Avon had trouble stopping Highland’s Alayna Tessena, who repeatedly attacked the middle of Avon’s zone. She racked up four aces and 17 kills in the match.
After the second set, the Eagles made some adjustments to help slow Tessena down.
“We moved our block over on her just to try and get a double block because that was the only person they were setting,” Bendzuck said. “She’s a heck of a player and a special kid. I wish we could have stopped her a little bit more, but she got the job done.”
Highland jumped out to an early 14-4 lead on Avon in the third set before the Eagles rallied. Alyssa Joherl ripped off seven straight service points to pull Avon within two at 16-18. The Hornets kept their composure and closed out the third set, winning, 27-25.
Avon found itself trailing, 2-1, needing to win the fourth set extend the match. That’s exactly what they did as the Eagles took the set, 25-17. At one point during the set, Amanda Demmerie poured in five straight service points and Avon tallied two kills and an ace in that span to put the Eagles up 21-7.
With the match on the line, Avon kept its composure and didn’t lay down for the Hornets.
“At one point in the third set it was 20-7 (Highland),” Avon senior Jamie Villwock said. “We know when we
have to take care of business and we work great as a team together.”
Bendzuck was proud of her team’s fight and willingness to rally after Avon found itself trailing, 2-1.
“I just told the kids that easily could have ended after set four and it didn’t,” Bendzuck said. “They stuck with it, and they fought all year. There were so many sets that we could have lost, matches we could have lost because they could have quit and they didn’t quit. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
In the fifth set, it was a back-and-forth affair all the way until the finish. There were eight ties and several lead changes. Avon was able to take the lead a two point lead early on, but Highland rallied to win the set and take the match.
“That’s one of the main things we are so upset about,” Villwock said. “We know how good we are as a group and we know what we are going to be missing. We work to come back, and we saw that in the fifth set. We were down and we kept with them the whole time. It was a back-and-forth game, and it was us fighting and playing our hearts out.”
Emily Gardner led the Eagles with 11 kills and Villwock was close behind with seven. Joherl led the team with 24 blocks and Emma Farney had 19 assists.