MELBOURNE, Fla. (Volleyball) – The Florida Tech volleyball team (2-7, 0-1 SSC) was in a nail-biter Friday night in its Sunshine State Conference opener against Rollins (7-2, 1-0 SSC). Despite leaving everything on the court, the Panthers were unable to hold off the Tars in the fifth and final set, as they fell 3-2 at the Clemente Center.
 
FIT, which produced an attack percentage of 0.160 for the match, was led offensively by Kelly Germain (15), Olivia Hersey (14) and Jenna Schaffer (13), who combined for 42 of the team's 54 kills in the match. Hersey also racked up a team-high attack rate of 0.316 with just two errors.  
 
Kiersten Rosa finished with a career-high 44 assists, in addition to picking up 12 digs and three block assists. Becca Bower collected a match-best 28 digs, while Schaffer notched 15 digs to give her a double-double for the match. Samantha Reeves contributed off the bench with three kills and five total blocks.
 
The Tars, who hit 0.173 in the match, were led by Shannon McDonough and Bri Civiero at the net. McDonough led all players with 24 kills, on 54 attempts, to go along with 14 digs, while Civiero added 19 kills, 20 digs and three total blocks. Kate Stefanski also contributed to her team's effort with 10 kills.
 
Cassidy Cason dished out a match-high 57 assists and collected 10 digs in the victory, while Rebecca Wilson and Jaime Becker recorded 21 and 13 digs, respectively.
 
Florida Tech continues the conference slate next Thursday, Sept. 22, in Boca Raton, Florida as the Panthers square off with the Fighting Knights of Lynn at 7 p.m. ET at the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center. For live coverage of the action, go to FloridaTechSports.com.