MUNCIE — For the Avon volleyball team, this season was only about one thing, winning state. While the Orioles advanced to the title game, they fell just short, bringing to end a great run by Avon’s seven seniors.
In a near perfect season (39-1) where Avon only lost the state championship game, the Orioles won 39 straight games and were nationally and state ranked all year.
“It was an amazing run, but going undefeated was never our ultimate goal,” Alli Bexell said. “Our ultimate goal was to get here and we got here and just fell a little short of what we wanted.”
Avon lost 3-1 to the defending state champion Penn Kingsmen at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena. While the match did not go as the Orioles expected, the girls did not hang their heads.
“It’s been amazing, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to play with. Being undefeated was a dream come true and obviously expected a little bit different outcome but things happen,” Katie Higginbotham said. “We didn’t play as well as we wish we would have. I still love these girls with all my heart and I’m so proud of how far we came.”
One loss does not ruin such a great season for the Orioles as they have accomplished so much in dominating fashion— only one of their games this year was pushed to five sets. But a loss in the state championship is a difficult one to swallow.
“In the end we’ll understand what we did accomplish here and what a great season we did have,” Madison Reeves said. “We’ll be proud of ourselves no matter what but right now we’re still going to be a little bit upset for a while because we know what we could have done and didn’t.”
For the seven seniors, each of their seasons have been memorable, but none more than this year.
“It’s been amazing being a senior,” Jill Steinmetz said. “I’m going to miss the girls so much. We’ve been really close and it’s going to stay that way, this isn’t the end for us.”
The Orioles’ volleyball team was a close-knit group of girls that had fun both on and off the court.
“We are a really close team, I know with the seniors and underclassmen there is no division of classes on our team,” Reeves said. “We are all friends off of the court and that just really helps us on the court because we trust each other and have each other’s backs.”
Having solid team chemistry translated into a great deal of success on the court for Avon and made their roles easier.
“Our group of girls, we are together on and off the court all the time,” Higginbotham said. “We mesh really well with each other and I think that was a really big part of our success this year.”
For Bexell, this appearance in the volleyball state championship game was her second in a state title game in five months. She played on the Orioles’ runner-up softball team who lost 1-0 to Carmel. Not many athletes can claim they have played in one state title game, let alone two in just five months.
“I’ll always remember it. The first one year earlier this year, I didn’t play so great in that one and I wanted to come out and play good in this one to make it count and remember it,” Bexell said. “It’s very special to me especially being in it. It’s a cool atmosphere to be in and it’s cool to watch all the fans get into it.”
Now with the season concluded, looking back provides great moments and memories for these girls to remember the rest of their lives.
“The memories I’ll take from this run are the amount of support we’ve had from the fans,” Reeves said. “Our parents are amazing and we’ve had a great student section that have been at every single match we’ve had all season. The girls are amazing, I love each and every one of them.”
As Bexell, Higginbotham, Reeves, Steinmetz, Emily Young, Liz Neibert and Rachel McKinney’s volleyball careers are now over at Avon, Reeves gave the returning Orioles advice for the future.
“The girls need to learn from this season and take everything as a challenge,” she added. “Be the best that you can be and work hard all time. Never settle for just okay, be great.”
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