Tars Fall in Straight Sets to RV Wayne State and No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (August 25, 2018) – Wrapping up their opening weekend at the Ferris State Invitational, the Rollins volleyball team found themselves at the bottom end of two matches as they squared up against Wayne State, who received votes on the AVCA DII Preseason Poll, as well as No. 1 and defending National Champion Concordia-St. Paul.
The Tars fell in straight sets to both the Warriors (13-25, 24-26, 17-25) and the Golden Bears (20-25, 12-25, 9-25), dropping to a mark of 1-3 on the young season. Wayne State wrapped up the Invitational with a record of 3-1, while No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul also concluded the weekend with a record of 3-1 after losing in three to No. 21 Ferris State on Friday.
Game One:
Rollins opened their Saturday slate squaring up against the Warriors, seeing a team best seven kills from senior Rachel Fletcher. Behind Fletcher, Leslie Seda, and Kerra Tirado recorded five kills each, while Candace Doxey and Sam Schlesman earned four apiece. Freshman Rebecca Kuehn led the team with 14 assists, followed by Sarah Konemann with nine. Leading the team in digs was freshman Jessika Linnemeery with 14, while Fletcher dug out 10 of her own. Leading the team in blocks were Schlesman and Doxey with three each, while Tirado put up two as Rollins earned 11 total blocks on the afternoon.
The Warriors saw a match high of 13 kills out of Hailey Richardson, followed by 10 kills from Taylor Wagner. Kamryn Duffield dished out a match best 37 assists, while Ellie Rodriguez led the team in digs with 17. The Warriors put up 13 total blocks, including five block assists from Grace Frazee, while Olivia Fike earned the team's lone solo stop on the day.
Game Two:
Against the top-ranked Golden Bears, the Tars put up a fight in the first set but were unable to overcome a stout top-ranked CSP squad in the final two. A trio of Tars earned three kill apiece in Leslie Seda, Rachel Fletcher, and Sam Schlesman, to lead the team. Earning a team best six assists was Rebecca Kuehn with six, followed by Sarah Konemann with five. Jessika Linnemeyer notched a team best 11 digs, followed closely by Rachel Fletcher with 10. At the net, Kerra Tirado put up a match best eight blocks, while Doxey earned four, and Seda was credited with three.
The Golden Bears were led by Sara Macek with 13 kills, followed by Brooklyn Lewis and Erin Fallert with eight apiece. Elizabeth Mohr took charge in assists, earning 28. Tori Hanson led the team with 16 digs, followed closely by Hope Schiller with 15, Fallert with 13, and Taylor Soine with 11. Lewis led the squad in total blocks with three, including two solo stops which were matched by Sara Macek.
COACH ROBINSON'S THOUGHTS:
"Wayne State and Concordia did a great job of pushing us out of our comfort zone and while we did not get the W's, we saw huge growth in this young team over the weekend which is what we were seeking. Now it is time to get back to practice and keep working to improve every day."
NEXT UP:
- Date: Friday | August 31, 2018
- Opponent: Wilmington (Del.)
- Location: Warden Arena in the Alfond Sports Center
- Time: 5 p.m.
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