MELBOURNE, Fla – After dropping the first two sets, staring down match point and a potential sweep, Florida Tech dug deep to earn their first Sunshine State Conference victory of the season on Wednesday night at the Clemente Center by a score of 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 15-13).
In the opening set, Lynn pulled away with the victory on the strength of a.481 hitting percentage and 17 kills. After starting off with a service ace from Marissa Tandron, Lynn was able to hold the lead for the remainder of the opener.
The Fighting Knights continued their hot start in the second frame, scoring seven of the first 10 points while holding the Panthers to a zero hitting percentage in that span. The Crimson and Gray did make things interesting momentarily by bringing the deficit to within 14-9, but Lynn quickly scored three points to restore the sizeable lead. Florida Tech had one more rally in them, going on a 5-1 to bring the contest within three at 24-21. Elyse Fleck short-circuited that potential comeback and the set with a kill.
Florida Tech took their first lead of the night in the third set by scoring the first three points, followed by a 5-0 sprint to put Lynn down 8-1 early on the strength of great serving from
Becca Bower and
Cheyanne Kauffmann. Lynn still had a win in their sights and continued to fight their way back into the game, using a late 6-0 run to shrink the margin to 21-19. Off a kill by Katie Knight the visitors were serving for match point but three consecutive attack errors kept Tech alive and allowed them to see another set.
The fourth set was a battle with neither side ever having a lead more than three. With the game tied 19-19 the two sides went back and forth for the next six points until Lynn scored two straight to bring up another set point. Florida Tech brought the proceedings level with a pair of
Payton Bayless serves leading to Fighting Knight errors.
In the tiebreaking final set, the Panthers were able to hold the Fighting Knights to a zero hitting percentage, sealing the win thanks to a block from
Alea Hamm and Mili Tapuskovic.
Leading the way on the night for Tech was
Marilyn Dick, who recorded 14 kills in 36 total attacks.
Kim Juriga added 12 kills of her own in 36 attacks. In addition to her game-clinching block, Tapuskovic also recorded 13 kills in 32 attacks along with seven digs and four block assists.
Ashtin Truesdale logged 48 assists and 10 digs in addition to two aces.
Cheyanne Kauffman added 16 digs, four assists and three aces.
The Panthers (6-9, 1-6) return to action on Friday night in Saint Petersburg for an SSC matchup with Eckerd beginning at 7 p.m.
