WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 15, 2021) - The Rollins Tars came up just short after playing inspired ball on Friday evening. After five sets, they fell to Florida Southern by a score of 3-2. Rollins now sits at 3-14 (0-10 SSC) on the year, while Southern moves to 9-5 (6-4 SSC).
How it happened:
- Florida Southern took command early on, scoring five of the first six points. After trading the next four points each, the Mocs were able to take advantage of a number of Rollins errors and extend their lead to 17-7. Rollins was unable to pull any closer than six, and eventually fell 25-19. The Tars were out-killed by the Mocs 14-8 in the set.
- The second set was a completely different story. With the Tars down by as many as four at 14-10. Rollins then scored four straight points on kills from Andie Baldridge and Candace Doxey, as well as a service ace from Emma Begley. It was a back-and-forth affair from there on out as the team tied seven more times before the end of the match. Riding the efforts of an efficient attack from their frontline, the Tars were able to rally and hold on for the win, 25-23. They posted eleven kills in the match against only three errors, led by Doxey and Baldridge, who had three each.
- The third set was one of the most entertaining of the year for Rollins. The Mocs and Tars tied each other a whopping eleven times in the set, with the largest lead being 12-7 in favor of the Moccasins. Rollins took advantage of their 18 kills in the set to stage their comeback. Florida Southern did a good job of coming up with clutch points late, but at 28-27 a kill from Lana Gerard sealed the win for Rollins, 29-27.
- Florida Southern dominated the fourth set as the Tars began to run out of gas. With the score tied at seven apiece, a six-point run form Southern gave them a lead they would not relinquish. The difference in the set was play at the net. The Mocs tallied ten kills with only two errors, while Rollins ended up with more attack errors (8) than kills (7).
- The fifth and deciding set saw the Mocs record ten kills with zero attack errors as they cruised to a 15-4 win, sealing the win.
Despite the loss, the Tars showed a lot of heart, playing hard through every point. They fed off a home crowd that made a lot of noise, and provided a bit of a home-court advantage. Head coach
Mika Robinson had those to say about the Tars effort on Friday:
"We have had a long stretch of players in and out due to injury and sickness, but this group has continued to fight to get better every day. I think tonight showed our fans some of that hard work. I was proud of how hard we battled against a very good Florida Southern team, and it was a total team effort to put us in the position of a 5
th set. Credit goes to Florida Southern's serving and offense in the 5
th set to determine the match."
Andie Baldridge continued to impress in her new found role in the starting lineup as she led the Tars with 12 kills. Gerard had eleven, and also added 13 digs and a pair of aces.
Alexis Yeager tallied five blocks to lead the Tars' defense.
Up next for Rollins is a home match on Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Spartans. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
