ST. DAVID'S, Pa --  Senior Shannon Baily tallied 15 kills as the second-seeded Stevenson (25-5, 7-1 MACC) fell to Eastern (22-5, 8-0 MACC) 3-2 in the 2022 MAC Commonwealth Women's Volleyball Championship. Set scores were 25-16, 25-12, 20-25, 19-25, 13-25.
 
Stevenson held the Eagles to a 0.000 attack percentage in the opening frame and sent home 12 kills as the Mustangs led the set wire-to-wire. The Mustangs sprinted out to a 10-3 lead with back-to-back kills from Rileigh Kimball and Giulia Viglietta. The Mustangs hauled out to a 20-8 advantage with a seven-point run capped off by a kill from Shannon Baily.
 
The Eagles chipped away to close the gap at 22-16 on the heels of a four-point run. Stevenson closed out the set with a three-point rally with back-to-back kills from Kimball and a kill from Haley Hoover for a 25-16 opening frame victory.
 
Stevenson led the second set wire-to-wire, tacking on a .357 attack percentage with 18 kills and allowing Eastern to tally two back-to-back points only twice. The Mustangs used an 8-2 run to leverage a 16-7 lead. The Mustangs finished the frame on a 5-1 stretch which included three kills from Rileigh Kimball, a kill from Haley Hoover and a block from Hoover and Baily. Stevenson took the set 25-12.
 
The third set saw only one tie score as Eastern used a 7-2 run to take a 4-9 lead. The Mustangs chipped away at the Eastern lead, closing the gap to 13-14 with a three-point run but the Eagles went on an 8-3 run to leverage a 22-16 lead. Stevenson narrowed the gap to 20-23 with a kill from Giulia Viglietta but Eastern took the final two points to win the set 20-25.
 
The Mustangs hit for just .146 in the fourth set while the Eagles hit .386 with 20 kills. The Eagles hauled out to a 6-14 lead before Stevenson embarked on a 7-2 run to close the gap to 13-16. Kayla Vaeth added two aces in the run while Sarah Straub added back-to-back kills. The sides traded points before Shannon Baily put home back-to-back kills for to narrow the lead to 17-19. However, Eastern closed the set on a 6-2 run to win the frame 19-25 and tie the match at two-sets a-piece.
 
The fifth set saw nine tie scores and five lead changes as the teams battled for the conference championship. The Mustangs held an 11-10 lead before Eastern rallied with four consecutive points for a 11-14 lead before a block from Viglietta and Straub halted the momentum. Stevenson narrowed the gap to 13-14 but one final Eagles kill gave Eastern the set at 13-15 and win the match 2-3.
 
Numbers and Notes

• Stevenson falls to Eastern in the MAC Commonwealth Championship for the second consecutive season.
• Shannon Baily led the Mustangs with 15 kills.
• Four Mustangs tallied double-digit kills (Shannon Baily – 15, Rileigh Kimball - 14, Haley Hoover and Sarah Straub – 10 each).
• Haley Hoover hit .529 to lead the match.
• Sarah Straub added a match-high eight block assists.
• Makala Thompson dished out 21 assists while Samantha Simmers added 18.

What's Next

• As of October 30, Stevenson ranks second in Region V while Eastern ranks fifth. On Monday, November 7 at 1pm, the Mustangs will find out if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.