After back-and-forth highwire duel, Fillmore volleyball upsets No. 1 Avoca-Prattsburgh with 5th set comeback to clinch spot in Friday’s Class D2 Finals

AVOCA — It’s been a roller-coaster thrill ride of a season for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore. Following a 7-3 start, the team then soon found themselves in the middle of the road with Sectionals rapidly approaching, with tough battles against Wellsville, Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg all providing a major impact.

An impact that also proved to be pretty beneficial as well.

Despite a regular-season ending defeat to the hands of the Lady Lions just over a week ago, the Lady Eagles have come together to keep pumping on the gas, finishing the campaign with wins in five of their last six games in the midst of playing some of their best volleyball at the right time.

Because of their efforts, head coach Lacie Fuller and her Lady Eagles have now soared into a prime position to earn their way back to Section V’s prime destination — the Class D2 Finals, for perhaps a second time in four years.

It all began Tuesday night with a trip to visit the No. 1 seeded Avoca-Prattsburgh Lady Titans. And right out of the gate, they were met with an unreal and raucous presence from within the Avoca crowd. Those overwhelming shockwaves aided the hosts in setting up shop almost immediately against Fillmore with a 1-0 lead. But soon after, the Lady Eagles began to show some perseverance.

Despite an injury to one of their biggest offensive playmakers, Mya Keeler, during the second set of action, the Lady Eagles rallied around and fought back with grit and toughness to deliver an outstanding response back to the Lady Titans with wins in each of the next two sets to force the top-seeds towards the brink.

But Avoca-Prattsburgh bounced back with another one of the match’s game-tying punches, ultimately constructing a fifth and final set that would determine everything the night had to offer.

Before the set began, Fuller said to her Lady Eagles that if they wanted to get the job done, they had to dig in at that very moment and do it together one more time.

“Before the fifth set, we talked about having to do this together,” she recalled. “We didn’t have our biggest offensive weapon at 100 percent. But, we were mixing and matching pieces on the court. The girls had to dig deep, especially in the fifth set where it is all about mental toughness more than anything, more than the physical volleyball being played. The girls didn’t blink.”

No, they didn’t blink. In fact, they went all in and hit the jackpot.

Through all of the adversities in the world that shrouded them in Avoca, the Lady Eagles, after a late match-tying surge from the Lady Titans in extra serves during the fourth set, left everything they had on the court. As a result, they would come back from behind one last time behind several major contributions to send them over the top and towards the upset victory to clinch their first trip back to the Finals since 2021, recording the five-set upset of the Lady Titans by a 15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 15-8 count.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these ladies and their perseverance tonight,” Fuller said. “We were on the road, against the No. 1 seed with a gym full of their crazy fans and got down 1-0 after the first set. We were all glad it ended so we could reset and refocus for the next one, which we did. They showed some real resiliency and we played more like us in the second set, and then we found our rhythm in the third. Mya rolled her ankle and had to come out of the game during the third set, but we finished that with three JV call-ups on the floor and found a way to pull it off. Together, these ladies made it happen.”

Paving the path forward for Fillmore (14-7) was Annalisa Bialek, who was paramount down the stretch for the Lady Eagles on offense, as she assembled a game-high 10 kills to go with a pair of aces from the service line. Keeler followed behind with six additional kills, while Eevie Cox scored an outstanding night on defense to keep the ball off the floor and in play, collecting 20 digs.

Eleanor Reitnour rounded off the Lady Eagles with some more offensive help, garnering 18 assists at the net to go with two more digs of her own on defense.

“I’m so proud of Mya for leading her team, even with an injury, and Annalisa came through with another impressive performance for us in Sectionals,” Fuller said. “Eevie controlled the defense with some huge digs and her passing around the floor, and the kids who haven’t played a point yet in Sectionals all came through in big spots. Just the entire team coming together to find a way to victory on a big stage. We’re definitely excited to get back to the Finals and compete for another championship.”

The Lady Eagles have now earned the right to advance into the Class D2 Championship round, where they will now clash with the No. 3 Elba Lady Lancers for all of Section V’s glory coming up on Friday in Pavilion, beginning at 7 p.m.

The winner will face the Class D1 champion — either York or C.G. Finney, in the Class D State Qualifier game, next week.