Eagles finish with 30-victory season

EMPORIA -- Uniontown's volleyball team won one of its three matches at the Class 2A State Tournament here Friday and did not advance on to the semifinals. However, the Eagles did win their final match of pool play to finish the season with 30 victories in 41 matches.

The fifth-seeded Eagles faced No. 4 Brookville--Ell-Saline in their first match and fell 25-23, 25-10. Mandie Ridge and Hayden Rathbun each had 4 kills. Emily Shinn had 7 blocks and Brit Stokes handed out 14 assists.

"We played really well in the first set," Uniontown head coach Jackie Hall said. "I really think if we would have got that first set, the match outcome might have been different."

Top-seeded Washington County swept the Eagles, 25-10, 25-6. Shinn had 2 kills. Rathbun and Hannah Travis had 9 blocks each. Stokes dished 5 assists.

"Washington County was dominant to say the least," Hall said. We struggled in passing and couldn't make the necessary blocking adjustments we needed against their main hitter."

In their final match, the Eagles defeated Berean Academy, 21-25, 25-13, 25-15. Rathbun had 11 kills and Ridge had 6. Shinn was credited with 15 blocks and Stokes with 27 assists.

"It was good to see the team find their confidence again," Hall said. "Even though we lost the first set, we were playing well."

The top two teams in the pool, Washington County and Ell-Saline, went on to face each other in the State final. Washington County won the match, 25-12, 25-15.