WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (October 22, 2021) - Rollins put together one of their best matches of the season on Friday, but it was not enough as they fell to the Montevallo Falcons by a score of 3-0 on the first day of the annual GSC/SSC Crossover. The move drops Rollins to 3-16 on the year, while Montevallo improves to 10-12.
How it Happened:
- Montevallo was the first to strike in set one, jumping to a 2-0 lead. However, Rollins was able to tie things up at two apiece, and then knotted things up again at four all a few moments later courtesy of kills from Lana Gerard and Emma Begley. Two kills, an ace, and two Rollins attack errors gave the Falcons five of the next six points, and a lead they would not relinquish. After falling behind by as many as five, the Tars came storming back to pull within one at 17-16 after an Alexis Yeager kill. Back-to-back service aces late in the match from Colton Thompson were the dagger for the Tars as they fell 25-22. Rollins was efficient at the net, tallying 12 kills at a .321%.
- Set two saw the Tars jump out to a six-point lead thanks to kills by Yeager and Gerard, as well as four errors from the Falcons. Montevallo attempted to chip away, but the Tars stayed ahead, extending the lead to as many as six at 18-12 after a pair of kills from Candace Doxey and Yeager. After swapping points, the score stood 21-18 in favor of the Tars. Montevallo then went on a five-point run that included a kill and an ace from Evelina Teran to take a 23-21 lead. Rollins pulled within in one two more times before the end of the match, but an Allie Dishman kill secured the win for Montevallo at 25-23.
- The third set was as tight as they come as the two squads tied each other an astounding eleven times on the way to 25. With Montevallo up 10-7, Rollins took advantage of three errors from the Falcons while adding kills from Doxey, Gerard, and Yeager to make the score 13-11 in favor of the Tars. After the Falcons gained a 21-18 lead, Rollins was able to score three straight on powerful strikes from Baldridge and Gerard to tie things up at 21 all. However, Montevallo found new life after a timeout, and scored four of the next five points to wrap things up at 25-22.
As a team, Rollins posted 39 kills at a .238%, one of their highest totals of the year. Doxey and Baldridge led the way with ten kills each, followed by Gerard (8), Yeager (6) and Begley (5). Defensviely, Doxey and Yeager each totaled four blocks while
Charlie Durbin yet again led the team in digs with 16.
Rebecca Kuehn had 35 assists in the loss for Rollins.
Next up for the Tars is a doubleheader on Saturday against Christian Brothers at 10 am, followed by a 4:45 pm matchup with West Alabama.
