By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (August 23, 2025) – For much of the match, Evergreen and Ayersville more resembled a “Rocky”, or “Creed” movie, as they threw big punch after big punch at each other.
In the end though it was the punches that missed at the end of the third and fifth sets that doomed the Vikings in a 21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, 13-15 loss to the Pilots. Evergreen is now 2-1 on the year. Ayersville is still unbeaten at 3-0.
The 6’ duo of Brooklyn Michel and Grace Flory, each blasted a pair of shots for kills as the Pilots raced to a 12-6 lead in the first set.
The Vikings became energized when Lyla Radel had an emphatic block and Beth Sintobin followed with a slap back of an overpass.
Avery Emmitt’s bullet that painted the back line brought the Vikings within 13-12 but three shots from Flory sent the Pilots up 19-14.
Lanae Manz then landed blow after blow, four in all, then an ace that got the Vikes back to down 21-19 but again Michel and Flory delivered the knockout shots for point 24 and 25 to end the set.
The Vikings got off the mat starting the second as Emmitt scored three times early, then Sintobin hit boards from the middle over and over, six times in all as the Vikings went on a 10-point run that took them from down 14-13, to up 23-14 before Manz ripped a bullet from the left to score the second set win.
Flory and Michel scored seven of the first 10 Pilot points in the third, but Radel, Emmitt and Manz countered with the same to even the score at 10-10.
Sylvie Abec’s cross to the deep corner kept the Vikes even but after Manz regained an Evergreen lead at 14-13, Michel got the Pilots the advantage back at 20-19.
Two Pilot shots into the net around Avah Vaculik’s ace gave Evergreen a 23-22 lead, but a missed serve and a shot out of bounds preceded Brianna Sobecki little drop shot from the middle finished the set.
Lissa Roesti’s dump off the set began a mid-set 6-0 burst that put Evergreen up 17-7 in the fourth. Ayersville came right back with an 8-0 burst where Flory nailed three kills to tie at 23-all.
Radel’s right side blast put Evergreen up, but Kendyall Booher retaliated for the Pilots. Sintobin stuck the go-ahead shot with an athletic left handed tip and an ensuing Pilot attack went out to even the match at two sets each.
In the critical fifth, the Vikings broke away from a 9-8 game when Emmitt went left side twice, Roesti hit a two-hand push and Abec along with Sintobin double blocked a Pilot shot to put Evergreen ahead 13-9.
Michel hit from the middle and Booher scored to make it 13-11 before missing on their next four attacks, and Ayersville took the match without scoring another offensive point.