TAMPA, Fla. (November 18, 2010) - The duo of Megan
Hodges and Sarah
Mendoza lifted the Tars to a 3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 14-25, 25-23,
15-9) victory over SSC-foe Florida Southern to advance to the next
round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament hosted by the
University of Tampa.
Rollins' 3-2 victory over the Mocs was only the sixth in program
history and the third for head coach Sindee
Snow. The last time the Tars (22-9) defeated Florida Southern
was in 2005 in three sets at the Jenkins Field House in
Lakeland.
With the win, Rollins advances to the next round where they will
face the winner between West Florida and North Alabama tomorrow at
5 p.m. The win marks the first in postseason play for Rollins.
Coming up big for Rollins was SSC Freshman of the Year Megan
Hodges as she notched 21 kills for a .241 attack percentage, to
go along with eight digs. Hodges secured the win for the Tars in
game five after a costly Mocs error put up match point for
Rollins.
Sarah
Mendoza put up a match-high 26 kills for a .361 attack
percentage, along with 15 digs for her 21st
double-double and tied her season-high of five blocks.
For the seventh time this season, the Tars found themselves in a
fifth set situation. Rollins dropped games one (25-22) and three
(25-14), but evened the match out with wins in games two (28-26)
and four (25-23).
Picking up their first win of the match in game two, the Tars
played an intense set as the game saw 19 ties and five lead
changes. Rollins played it out until the end after a 26-all tie by
Florida Southern. On the next serve, Hodges killed the ball and an
attack error by FSC's Ashley Martin gave the Tars the final
point.
Game four was another intense game for Rollins with 10 ties, but
this time Rollins never gave up a lead. The Tars won the set by
two points in the same fashion as they did game two.
Tied at two matches apiece, Rollins came out of the gates fierce
taking a 4-0 lead over the Mocs forcing a Jill Stephens timeout.
The Tars continued putting pressure on Florida Southern as Rollins
led by as many as seven.
With Rollins up 13-6, the Mocs scored back-to-back points
forcing a Sindee
Snow timeout. The Tars would commit their final error of the
set before taking advantage of a Florida Southern error to give
them match point. A kill by Megan
Hodges would secure the win for Rollins and would make history
as the Tars advance to the next round of the tournament.
The Tars continue their run at the NCAA Volleyball Championship
as they face the winner of West Florida and North Alabama tomorrow
afternoon at 5 at the Bob Martinez Sports Center.
