Hickory, N.C. – The 2025 season has officially begun for the Florida Tech Volleyball team as they traveled to North Carolina to participate in the Lenior-Rhyne Season Opening Invitational. After a 2024 campaign that saw Tech reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, Head Coach
Jordan Willis and his squad were eager to get back on the court. The Panthers opened the new year with a doubleheader slate that featured matches against Mount Olive and Catawba.
MATCH ONE:
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 3, Mount Olive Trojans 0
Set Recap: (
25-17), (
25-11), (
25-17)
Records: Florida Tech (1-0)
| Mount Olive (0-1)
Location: Shuford Arena
| Hickory, North Carolina
STATS OF THE MATCH:
First Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Mount Olive Trojans 17
- The Panthers first point of the new season came from Freshman Ayisha Missipo on her first swing of her college career.
- Tech opened the match with a 7-2 run to take early control of the first set.
- Big kills from Cordelia Kearns and a momentum-building block from Scarlett Kimbrell pushed the Tech lead to 12-5.
- Mount Olive brought the set to within three, but great defense from Kari Veolstad Bogen helped Tech ride the Trojans' run.
- Hadley Waldren earned her first point of her Panther career en route to a 17-12 lead.
- Elisa Broggio earned back-to-back kills as Tech went on to reach the 20-point mark.
- The Panthers went on a 5-2 run to close the set and take the first match point of the new season.
Second Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Mount Olive Trojans 11
- After winning the first set, the Panthers began to dominate the match as they opened the second set with a 10-1 lead.
- Mount Olive clawed back into the set with a 4-0 run, but kills from Hadley Waldren and Elisa Broggio put Tech back in the driver's seat.
- Despite the Trojan run in the middle of the set, great defense from the Panther middles and setters grew the lead to 20-11 in favor of Tech.
- The Panthers closed the second set on a 6-0 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Third Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Mount Olive Trojans 17
- After a 14-point second set win, Tech kept their foot on the gas and opened the third set with a 6-1 lead.
- The Panthers continued their strong play in the middle with Hadley Waldren and Scarlett Kimbrel earning block after block.
- Newcomers Ayisha Missipo and Elisa Broggio earned 3 kills each in the middle of the set to help the Panthers garner a 16-10 lead.
- While the Trojans tried to fight their way back into the match, Cordelia Kearns and Devyn Glassgold slammed the door.
- With the score 19-14, Tech rallied for a 6-3 run to put the contest away and capture their first win of the season.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- This was the first-ever meeting between these two programs; Tech leads the series 1-0
- The Panthers are 7-4 in their last 11 season openers
- With 8 digs in the match, Kari Voelstad Bogen is now seventh in Florida Tech history on the all-time career digs leaderboard.
MATCH TWO:
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 3, Catawba Indians 0
Set Recap: (
25-18), (
25-18), (
25-18)
Records: Florida Tech (2-0)
| Catawba (1-1)
Location: Shuford Arena | Hickory, North Carolina
STATS OF THE MATCH:
First Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Catawba Indians 18
- Catawba opened up the match with a 4-1 lead before the Panthers began to take over.
- With the help of newcomers Isabelle Clark and Natalie Rhodes, Tech went on a 10-2 run to take the lead and force a timeout.
- Clark registered four blocks and a kill in her first collegiate action, and Cordelia Kearns earned back-to-back kills as the Panthers continued to roll, taking a 13-6 lead into the middle set.
- After another Clark block, Kearns riffled another kill, and Tech led by ten as they took control of the set.
- Catawba did produce a small rally to pull the set closer, but the Panthers rolled to a 7-point win in the first set.
Second Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Catawba Indians 18
- The Panthers kept the momentum to start the second set as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
- While Catawba got on the board, a Courtney Caper service ace and Cordelia Kearns bullet pushed the lead out to 7-1, forcing another timeout.
- The Panthers continued to dominate and pushed the lead out to 15-6 before Catawba could get settled into the set.
- The Indians did try and battle back once again, sparking a 5-0 run in the middle of the set, but the outside hitters for Tech were too much for them to handle.
- By the time the Panthers reached the 20-point mark, six different hitters had registered a kill for Tech.
Third Set: Florida Tech Panthers 25, Catawba Indians 18
- To start the third set the Panthers once again did not take their foot off the gas, jumping out to a 6-1 lead with three service aces (Hadley Waldren 2x and Courtney Caper).
- Continuing to dominate, the Tech lead grew to 12-4 in large part to fantastic defensive and timely kills.
- The front three for Florida Tech also combined for 6 six in the third set, which pushed the Panther lead to 11 points by the midway point.
- While Catawba made a run late, Tech controlled the entire set to earn their second sweep of the day.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The Panthers are 2-0 to start the season for the second year in a row.
- Cordelia Kearns has registered double-digit kills for 16 straight matches dating back to last season.
UP NEXT: Tech will stay in North Carolina for the final two matches of the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational. Panther Volleyball will face Lees-McRae at 12 PM before taking on the hosts of this weekend's action, Lenoir-Rhyne at 2 PM.
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.
