WICHITA, Kan. — The Friends University Falcons managed to come out on top over the Avila University in five sets, securing the match with scores of 21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 24-26, and 15-7 inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons have already surpassed last season's 15-win total and are now 17-6 overall and 3-3 in the KCAC.
Friends opened the first set with a series of errors that allowed Avila to build an early 8-5 lead, capitalizing on multiple kills by Megan Davies and Maddie Jones. Despite a mid-set rally by Friends, featuring service aces and kills from
Sofia Mekelburg and
Jayde Gonzalez, Avila responded and closed the set 25-21.
Friends dominated the second set and won 25-13 to even the match. Key contributors included
Natalie Castillo and Gonzalez, each securing multiple kills, while the team capitalized on Avila's attack errors. Friends maintained momentum and ultimately closed the set with a decisive service ace.
The Falcons rallied in the third set with a decisive late surge, erasing a six-point deficit to secure a 25-22 victory.
Randi Reid's distribution was pivotal, assisting on key kills by
Gabbie Taylor and
Maddy Hildebrand during the comeback. Friends' late 6-0 run, featuring a service ace and multiple attack errors by Avila, clinched the set.
Avila narrowly edged out Friends in a back-and-forth set 26-24 to force a decisive fifth set. Friends initially fought back from a three-point deficit, tying the score at 16 with two consecutive service aces. However, Avila capitalized on a trio of late service aces by Da'Mya Dickson to regain the lead and then got a pair of kills from Payton Hofer to eventually close it out.
Friends capitalized on errors from Avila to open the final set with a three-point lead, as three attack errors and a bad set by Dickson contributed to an early 3-0 advantage. Avila attempted to regain momentum with a service ace from Sophia Giorgio, but Friends responded with a series of kills from Mekelburg and Taylor to extend their lead. After not playing the first three sets,
Maysen Bruschke came on strong with three kills and a block assist in the critical fifth set, including the final kill to close out the victory 15-7.
Gonzalez led the Falcons offensively with a career-high 16 kills in the victory.
Jacey Moulton anchored the defense with 26 digs and Reid facilitated the offensive flow with 31 assists while also contributing 10 digs.
Emma Sargeant added 20 assists, with Castillo (13 kills), Hildebrand (11 kills) and Taylor (10 kills) all reaching double-figure kills.
Tammy Melendez finished with 10 digs for the Falcons.
Giorgio led Avila defensively with 30 digs and Jones recorded a team-high 13 kills. Davies added 11 kills and had two solo blocks, with Sydney Martin leading the Eagles with 19 assists and Dickson tallying 17 assists.
The Falcons will next celebrate Senior Night Saturday (Oct. 18) with games vs. Bethel College and Haskell Indian Nations University at 5 & 7 pm.
