BOCA RATON, Fla. (Volleyball) – After a decade-long losing streak in Lynn territory, Florida Tech (4-5, SSC 2-3) wiped away the negative stretch conquering the Fighting Knights (3-4, SSC 1-3) in a five-set thriller on Thursday night at the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center.
It was an outstanding fight for the Crimson and Gray, as senior middle blocker Olivia Hersey dominated the match and blanked the Lynn offense to grab a match-high of nine blocks. The veteran was not alone in the game-breaking record, as freshman outside hitter Audrey Keenan amassed three block solos and six block assists. The Huston-native also registered a career record and match-high of four service aces.
As a team, the Panthers collected 42 kills, 76 digs, 41 assists, six service aces and 30 block assists, the highest ever recorded in both the match and season.
Junior right side hitter Heather Bowersox led the Crimson and Gray offense, notching a season-high 12 kills. The Orlando-product also registered a team-high .290 clip. Right behind her, Hersey chipped in with nine kills and a hitting percentage of .259, the second best within the Florida Tech lines. Exiting tonight's match in thrilling fashion, Hersey now seized the 14 spot in the SSC for kills (81) with an average of 2.38 per set, and moved up to the seventh seed for blocks with 30.
Sophomore defensive specialist Kyra Atkinson patrolled the FIT back corners, posting double-digit digs (17) in addition to her five assists. The Panthers libero has consecutively sat in fourth place inside the SSC for three weeks, with an average of 4.76 digs per set.
Sophomore setter Sheila Villagrasa tagged her second double-double of the season, as she piloted the offense with 36 assists to go with 15 digs and four block assists.
Standing in front of an audience of 194 spectators, the Panthers kick-started the first set by reaching the scoreboard first. Quickly answering back, Lynn tied the score but Florida Tech made its presence louder, as it notched four consecutive points to overlap the Fighting Knights, 5-2. After the score was tied four more times, the Panthers took a two-point run and never lost the lead, clawing the first set 25-22.
In the second set, FIT had a tie on only four occasions. With the score balanced at 12, the Crimson and Gray put Lynn at distance once again, but this time with a gap that varied between two and four points. The Panthers would go on to take the second set in overwhelming fashion, 25-20.
After the intermission, the Boca-based team fought back to grasp two consecutive sets and send the contest into what turned out to be a thrilling fifth set.
Opening the last set aggressively, the teams tied the score 5-5 in quick succession. From there, the Panthers firmly dominated Lynn, as junior right side hitter Tania Kottke put FIT on a run with two consecutive service aces. Feeding off the aces, fellow teammate Hersey came up big with three more blocks to put the Panthers ahead 11-6. For match point, Samatha Reeves and Bowersox combined for a flawless block assist to break the Panthers 10-year drought at the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center.
"The girls played tough tonight and did a great job playing together as a team," said head coach Amy O'Brien. "Once we knew it was going to a fifth set, our entire team really focused on getting the "W". Olivia and Tania did an outstanding job in the fifth set for us and came up big during key moments. Overall, this was a team effort and we are happy to return home with the win."
Florida Tech returns to the Clemente Center next week to host Florida Southern on Friday, Oct. 6. The Panthers will square up against the Mocs at 7 p.m. ET.
Fans can follow live action of the event at FloridaTechSports.com!
