Melbourne, Fla. (October 23, 2010) - A 32-kill
match for Sarah
Mendoza lifted the Tars (15-7, 5-5) in a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23,
13-25, 25-21, 16-14) victory over the Florida Tech Panthers this
Saturday afternoon at the Clemente Center.
For the second time this season, the Tars battled and came from
behind to force a fifth set on their opponent. Sarah
Mendoza, ranked 12th in the nation in kills per set,
notched a season-high 32 kills for a .392 attack percentage, along
with 14 digs and a block. Camille
Indest also notched a season-high 15 kills for a .379 attack
percentage, to go along with nine digs and five blocks.
Dropping game one 25-20, the Tars returned to the court and
handed Florida Tech (10-14, 1-9) a 25-23 loss to tie the match at
1-all.
Rollins took their first lead of the match in the second on a
kill by Sarah
Mendoza at the 14-13 mark; Mendoza guided Rollins to half the
Tars leads. On match point in the second set, the Panthers would
give the Tars a run for their money as they scored twice before
Rollins was able to close the game on a kill by Mendoza.
In game three, the Tars held a short-lived lead before Florida
Tech cruised on by the Tars and won the set 25-13. Not wanting to
lose another match in four, Rollins hustled as they took a late
lead over the Panthers at the 20-19 mark on a block assist by Kelly
Merideth and Camille
Indest. Rollins won game four 25-23.
Already winning two matches in five on the road, the Tars would
be put to the test to see if they could extend that streak to
three. Rollins held another short-lived lead in the beginning of
the fifth, but went on a 3-1 run after a Sindee
Snow timeout to tie the game at 14-all.
Intensity levels rose with a tied fifth set causing a Florida
Tech timeout. Rollins went up 15-14 on a kill by Jill
Lau forcing Florida Tech to take another timeout, but would not
break the Tars momentum as Rollins won on a kill by Megan
Hodges.
As a team, the Tars hit a .238, while Florida Tech outhit
Rollins with a .279. The Tars also tallied 60 kills to the
Panthers 71 and was the first time Rollins won a match with less
kills than their opponent.
On the defensive end, Rollins had three Tars in double-figure
kills with Phoebe
Corder notching a team-high 18 digs. Sarah
Mendoza tallied 14, while Christina
Carracino chipped in with 13.
Rollins continues on their road slate with a Wednesday (Oct. 27)
match-up against No. 4 Tampa. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
For live action of your Tars, listen in on the Tars Sports Network
at RollinsSports.com.
