ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Volleyball) - Wrapping up the first weekend of the regular season, Florida Tech (2-1) concluded the Flagler Invitational with a split score on Saturday evening. In the first match, the Panthers took an overpowering three sets over Purdue Northwest (25-19, 25-18, 25-19), but fell to the Flagler (3-0) after fighting hard over three sets of play.

 Against the Pride, Florida Tech never relinquished the lead, topping the Indiana-based lineup with 44 kills on 112 attempts for a hitting percentage of .205. During Match 2, the Panthers put up 35 kills on 103 attempts for a .204 game clip, but came up short against the Saints over three sets of play.

Leading the Panthers defense, sophomore defensive specialist Kyra Atkinson snatched 17 digs to move up in the Sunshine State Conference rankings to fifth place. After today's matches, Atkinson bumps her digs to 54. Continuing defensively, senior middle blocker Samantha Reeves clutched five blocks, while junior right side hitter Heather Bowersox concluded the day with four.

Offensively, freshman outside hitter Briana Garza led all players in the first match, accumulating 11 kills for an attack percentage of .474. After the Saturday outing, Garza counted 18 kills on 34 attempts, with a cumulative hitting percentage of .403. Controlling the offensive efforts, Kiersten Rosa counted 46 assists and racked up 16 kills for a hitting average of .535. Rosa registered a match-best of 25 assists during the first match, and currently sits in seventh in SSC for total number of assists (91).

As a team, the Crimson and Gray's hit a .204, recorded 14 blocks, and served 12 aces.

Next up, Florida Tech will travel to Manchester, N.H. to participate in the Saint Anselm College Tournament. The first match is set for 1:15 p.m. ET on Friday Sep. 8 against Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

For more info, please access FloridaTechSports.com