Tampa, Florida – Panther Volleyball was back on the west coast of Florida tonight to kick off the final weekend of the regular season. Tech took the court tonight to take on the number one team in the country, the University of Tampa.
MATCH NINETEEN – SSC PLAY
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 0, Tampa Spartans 3
Set Recap: (11-
25), (22-
25), (22-
25)
Records: Florida Tech (14-13, 9-10 SSC)
| Tampa Spartans (27-0, 19-0 SSC)
Location: Bob Martinez Center
| Tampa, Florida
MATCH NOTES:
First Set: Florida Tech 11, Tampa Spartans 25
- To begin tonight's match, Tampa opened the scoring before Cordelia Kearns earned the first kill of the night for the Panthers.
- The Spartans early run resulted in an 8-1 lead before Kearns picked up back-to-back kills.
- The kills from Kearns sparked a 4-0 run from the Panthers as they closed the gap to only trail by three points 8-5.
- Both sides traded points with a kill from Hadley Waldren and a block from Elisa Broggio, keeping Tech within striking distance.
- Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Spartans used a 6-0 run to take a double-digit point lead.
- Devyn Glassgold put an end to the Tech scoring drought, but Tech still trailed 20-11 late in the first set.
- The Spartans then used a 5-0 run to close out the set and lead the match 1-0.
Second Set: Florida Tech 22, Tampa Spartans 25
- After Tampa opened the scoring at the start of the second set, Cordelia Kearns registered a big kill to cut the lead in half.
- Tampa went on another small run, Hadley Waldren earned her first kill of the set, and followed it up with a block to tie the set at 5-5.
- While Tampa scored three straight, kills from Elisa Broggio and Isabelle Clark kept the Panthers in the set, trailing 10-8.
- Tech then cut the deficit to a one-point lead with three straight kills form Cordelia Kearns before Scarlett Kimbrell tied the set at 12-12 with a slide kill from the middle.
- Kearns went on to register another big-time kill to give the Panthers their first lead of the set at 13-12.
- The kill parade from Kearns continued as she recorded two more kills in a row and give Tech a 16-13 lead.
- However, Tampa answered the run by Kearns with one of their own to tie the set at 17-17.
- Both sides battled back and forth as the second set remained knotted after a Clark kill, 21-21.
- While Cordelia Kearns gave the Panthers a 22-21 advantage, the Spartans stormed back and scored four straight to steal the set.
Third Set: Florida Tech 22, Tampa Spartans 25
- Isabelle Clark and Hadley Waldren earned the first kills of the third set for the Panthers but the Spartans had jumped out to an early 6-2 lead.
- Not going down without a fight, Clark and Elisa Broggio earned a block to cut into the Tampa lead.
- However, despite good defense from Kari Voelstad Bogen and the back row, another big from the Spartans had them out front, 15-6.
- Tech got more kills from Clark and Cordelia Kearns, plus a block from Hadley Waldren, but Tampa was leading 18-12 at the midway point of the set.
- The Panthers continued to claw their way back into the set as they cut the deficit to as little as two points at 19-17.
- While Tampa began to pull away again, kills from Cordelia Kearns and Spartans attack errors had the Panthers back within two points at 23-21.
- It was a valiant effort from the Panthers, but the Spartans put an end to the comeback bid to take the set and the match.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
UP NEXT: The Panthers will wrap up the regular season in Lakeland, Florida, as they go to battle with Florida Southern. This match is slated for a 4:00 PM first serve on Saturday.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech Volleyball, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
