[Volleyball] Falcons Fall to Avila 3-2 at Garvey Center

WICHITA, Kan. — The Avila University Eagles won three straight sets Wednesday night (Oct. 20) to down the Friends University Falcons 3-2 inside the Garvey Center. 

The Falcons opened the first set on fire, mounting an 11-3 lead to force a timeout. Sarah Lazar-St. John (SR/Rose Hill, Kan. ) tallied three kills before back-to-back blocks by Rheagan Hoover (SR/Pratt, Kan. ) capped off the run.

The teams traded points until a kill by Hoover sparked a 7-1 spurt that gave the Falcons a 24-16 lead. Hoover capped off the set with her sixth kill of the game.

Set two began similar to the first, with the Falcons grabbing an early 6-1 edge. The Eagles battled back to tie the set at 11, but a kill by Lazar-St. John broke the gridlock and sparked a 5-2 run by the Falcons. 

The Eagles cut it to a 17-16 Friends lead, but the Falcons overcame the late push to win the set 25-19, and take a 2-0 advantage overall.

In the third set, the Falcons led 11-9 early, but Avila caught fire with an 11-2 run that shifted the momentum. The Eagles won the set 25-17. 

It was all Eagles from there, winning the fourth set 25-21 to force a decisive fifth game. 

The final set was back-and-forth to start, but the Eagles closed on a 7-3 run to win 16-14 and complete the comeback.

Hoover paced the Falcons (12-13, 4-3 KCAC) with a career-high and match-high 23 kills, while Lazar-St. John added 16 kills. Raquel Gonzales (SR/Las Cruces, N.M. ) finished with a match-best 30 assists, and Rachel Taylor (SR/Hays, Kan. ) led the team with 23 digs.

Kelsey Johnson led a balanced offensive attack for the Eagles (6-20, 1-7 KCAC) with 18 kills, while D'Ovion Williams added 12 kills, and Hannah Lentell had ten kills. The Eagles finished with 16 total blocks.

The Falcons hit the road for the next three as they square off against Saint Mary on Friday (Oct. 22), followed by Kansas Wesleyan on Oct. 27 and McPherson on Oct. 30.