Melbourne, Florida – Florida Tech Volleyball was back at home this afternoon for another Sunshine State Conference match as they hosted Rollins College. Coming off a five-set showdown with Eckerd the night before, the Panthers were hungry to get back on the court.
MATCH TWO – SSC PLAY
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 3, Rollins College Tars 2
Set Recap: (
25-19), (23-
25), (25-
25), (
25-18), (15-
17)
Records: Florida Tech (6-4, 1-1 SSC)
| Eckerd (11-4, 1-1 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center
| Melbourne, Florida
MATCH NOTES:
First Set: Florida Tech 25, Rollins Tars 19
- The first set of this match got off to a fast start. After Rollins got up 3-0, Tech answered right back with a 3-0 run to tie the set.
- Both sides began trading points before Cordelia Kearns registered three kills and led the Panthers to a 9-5 lead.
- The Tars did storm back and even tied the set at 14, but the Panthers used kills from Kearns and Ashley Rants to regain control of the first set.
- Leading 20-16, Courtney Capar and Cordelia Kearns earned service aces, and after a Devyn Glassgold kill, the Panthers took the first set.
Second Set: Florida Tech Panthers 23, Rollins Tars 25
- After taking control of the match 1-0, Tech knew Rollins was going to come back hard.
- Both teams traded points to open the set before the Panthers jumped out to a 13-7 lead with kills from Scarlett Kimbrell and strong defense from Kari Voelstad Begen.
- While it looked like Tech was going to control the second set, the Tars stormed back and eventually tied it up at 16-16.
- Each side again started to trade points, but with the Panthers leading 22-20, the Tars sparked a 4-0 run and stole the second set.
Third Set: Florida Tech Panthers 20, Rollins Tars 25
- With a tie match entering the third set, both teams came out aggressive. The first six points were all kills, and Cordelia Kearns gave Tech an early 4-3 lead.
- Once again, the Tars used a big run to take the momentum and lead 8-4.
- Devyn Glassgold, Elisa Broggio and Cordelia Kearns all registered kills, but Rollins remained in the lead 16-11.
- The Panthers were able to cut the lead to two, but for the third time in the match, Rollins used a 4-0 run to stay in front.
- Kills from Ashley Rants and Hadley Waldren kept Tech in striking distance, but the tars were able to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Fourth Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Rollins Tars 18
- Down 2-1 for the second straight night, the Panthers knew they needed to find a spark.
- Hadley Waldren and Elisa Broggio gave Tech an early 3-0 lead, but it was the freshman Isabelle Clark who gave the team their momentum back.
- She rattled off a series of blocks and kills from the middle to put the Panthers in control and even grew the lead out to 15-5.
- Rollins attempted a comeback but kills from Cordelia Kearns and Elisa Broggio, plus an ace from Kari Voelstad Bogen had the Panthers at the 20-point mark in dominant fashion.
- Five straight kills form Kearns, Clark and Broggio gave Tech the third set win and sent this match to a fifth and final set.
Fifth Set: Florida Tech Panthers 17, Rollins Tars 15
- Having been in this position for a second straight night, the Panthers wanted to show they could finish a match strong.
- Both sides traded points to start the set before Cordelia Kearns gave the Panthers a 4-2 lead with a big kill.
- Rollins answered with kills of their own, but a huge 5-1 run put Tech in control of the set, leading 11-7
- It was at this point that the Tars showed some grit as they battled back to tie the set at 14 and send the deciding set to extra points.
- Rollins did take the lead 15-14, but back-to-back kills from Cordelia Kearns gave the Panthers the one-point advantage.
- Tech was able to win the match off a bad set from a Tar and move to 1-1 in Sunshine State Conference play.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The Panthers have now had three of their ten matches this season go to a fifth set.
- Tech had a total of 62 assists in the match, a new team season high.
- Florida Tech Athletics goes 3-0 this week against Rollins, defeating them in Volleball, Men's Soccer and Women's Soccer
UP NEXT: The Panthers will head on the road for their first away match in SSC play. Tech will travel north to take on Embry-Riddle in a rematch of last year's NCAA South Region First Round match-up. This match will also be the Panthers and Eagles first battle for the Karman Cup, the new official rivalry between these two institutions.
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.
