WINTER PARK, Fla. – Freshman libero Phoebe
Corder registered 23 digs to increase her season total to 606,
four ahead of Kim Cline's mark set in 2005, as the Tars limited the
Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish to an attacking percentage of .144 en
route to a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-18) victory in non-conference
action Saturday afternoon at Warden Arena.
Corder switched back to the libero position after a brief stint
at the outside hitter spot. She improves her digs per set to 5.27
on the season, and now places 14th in the nation.
Offensively, junior outside hitter Nikki
Hartman led the Tars (17-15) with 16 kills as she was a dig
shy of recording the double-double with nine. Junior blocker Natalie
Branche trailed Hartman with eight kills, while outside hitter
Stephanie
Nichols collected seven as she's two kills away of 1,200 in her
four-year career.
Senior setter Lacey
Malarky provided 34 assists and increased her top spot on the
all-time list to 5,076, over 700 ahead of second place, Jennifer
Maloney.
PBA's (12-17) middle blocker Elizabeth Fugate recorded the
team-high 11 kills, while Emily Ryerson added 28 assists. Libero
Jennifer Eldridge owned a team-best 15 digs, while Lanae Robinson
assisted on three blocks.
In the first frame, sophomore right side hitter Caitlin
Vyborny crushed five or her six kills to get the Tars rolling.
Hartman led the frame with six kills.
After trailing by three at 11-8, Rollins fought off the next
three points to tie the match at 11 with a Hartman kill and two
attacking errors by PBA. The teams exchanged points until the Tars
fell behind by three again at 21-18 after the Sailfish capitalized
on a few Tars' mistakes.
Again, Rollins stormed back to tie the match at 22 and took a
one point lead at 23-22 after back-to-back-to-back kills from
Hartman and Nichols. A kill from PBA's Lauren Villarreal knotted
the set at 23, before Hartman slammed a cross-court shot to put the
Tars at set-point. Vyborny used a pass from Malarky to seal the
first-frame victory.
With a 1-0 advantage, the Tars showed off its comeback skills in
the second set after falling behind 24-22. A timeout taken by head
coach Sindee
Snow paid off as the Tars scored four unanswered points to
claim the victory. Branche had two kills in the Tars' final four
points to give Rollins a 2-0 lead into intermission.
In the final set, defense was the difference for the Tars as
they held the Sailfish to a .067 attacking percentage. Rollins
built a 6-1 lead and increased it to seven at 18-11 before a
mini-run by PBA cut the deficit to three at 21-18. Again, a Snow
timeout was the difference as Rollins scored four more unanswered
points to close out the set 25-18.
As a team, the Tars hit .289 the highest attacking percentage
since Sept. 26 when Rollins hit .363 against Valdosta State.
With the win, the Tars swept the Sailfish on the season as the
teams met in West Palm Beach, Oct. 7 with Rollins escaping with a
3-1 win.
The Tars return to Sunshine State Conference action, Sunday,
Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. as they host Saint Leo.
