The victory completed two goals that were set as the season began—winning a third consecutive SWC crown and defeating the rival Shoregals twice in a season. A third goal could be accomplished Thursday when Avon hosts Elyria. A victory over the Pioneers, a team they easily swept about a month ago, would give the Eagles an undefeated mark in SWC play.

“We’re definitely very excited about it,” said Stone. “It’s something that we’ve really worked for. At the beginning of the season, we set individual goals, and one of our goals was to try to go undefeated in the conference this year. Obviously, we still have one game left, but being able to be conference champions this year is definitely something that was very achievable for us, and I’m glad we were able to push ourselves to make it.”

The victory really centers around the second set, which saw the Eagles teeter on the brink of losing the set numerous times, only to come back for the win. The first set was even until Avon went on a 10-1 run, turning a 15-13 deficit into an insurmountable 23-16 lead. The third set was a blowout from the start, with the Eagles jumping to leads of 4-0, 10-2 and 17-5 before putting it away.

“I’m really proud of our team,” said Hamilton of the Eagles upping their record to 20-0 and 13-0. “I think it took a lot of grit that second set to come back. It really showed that we wanted to win, and we wanted to go out there and do our best to leave it all out there with no regrets. I think we did a very good job of that.”

Avon Lake seemed to have control of the second set, turning a 7-6 deficit into a 15-9 lead. The Shoregals later led by scores of 20-15 and 24-20 before Hamilton took over.
First, the senior who is committed to play at Ashland next year, had a kill on the right side, one of her 10 put-aways for the match. She followed that up with a service ace, cutting the margin to 24-22. Hamilton, who sometimes is a setter and sometimes is a hitter, then had an assist on a kill by Bethany Sherwood. Next, she had another ace to tie the match at 24.

“I was really motivated that game,” she said. “The student section was really loud. My teammates were depending on me to get my serve over, so I just wanted to do it for my teammates. I just went out there and tried my best to bounce back and get the win there. We never give up. We know a set is never over until it’s over. I think we did a good job of digging deep and fighting through all the mental things.”

For the match, Hamilton had 17 assists, 10 kills and four aces.

“I thought Lily was amazing tonight,” said Avon coach Kara Coffman. “She was really a standout in my eyes for this game—doing a little bit of everything. In the second set, I commend her for staying calm and serving under all that pressure, especially with the big crowd and lots of noise.”

But it took a flukey play by Stone to really put the nail in the second set coffin. With the Shoregals clinging to a 25-24 lead, both teams found themselves out of system, scrambling just to get the ball over the net. Stone, who was playing in the back row, was forced to take a wild swing at a ball that was over her head. Headed to Duquesne next year, Stone is one of the biggest hitters in the state, but on this point the ball barely cleared the net a fell to the floor to tie the score at 25. The set then ended on consecutive errors by Avon Lake.

“That was total desperation,” said Stone. “It hit off my pinky, and I turned to my coach and said, ‘There’s no way I thought that ball was going over, let alone inbounds. I hit it with a Hail Mary mentality. It ended up working, and I was very grateful.”

Two matches remain for Avon, Thursday’s home date with Elyria, and a showdown October 15 at Magnificat between teams that are ranked No. 1 (Magnificat) and No. 3 (Avon) in the state in Division II. It also could be a preview of what’s to come as the Blue Streaks are the top seed in the district and the Eagles are seeded second.