Tars Plunder Bucs for Third Straight Win

WINTER PARK, Fla. (October 26, 2021) - In what was arguably their most complete game of the year at home, the Rollins Tars stayed hot as the earned their third straight win by defeating the Barry Buccaneers 3-1 on Tuesday evening in Winter Park. The win moves Rollins to 6-16 (1-11 SSC) on the year, while Barry falls to 12-7 (5-7 SSC).

How it Happened:

• Rollins dominated from first serve, going up 6-3 with six kills courtesy of Emma Begley, Riley Spurlin, Lana Gerard, and Alexis Yeager. After a bit of back and forth, a kill and a service ace pulled Barry within one at 8-7. However, the Tars turned up the heat, scoring seven of the next eight points on a mix of kills, Barry attack errors, and great defense. Andie Baldridge was especially aggressive in the first set, notching four of the Tars 14 kills. As a team, Rollins struck at .357%, while the Bucs only managed six kills at -.067%. Eleven of the Tars' 25 points were from Barry attack, service, or ball-handling errors, easing the Tars into a 25-14 win.
• The second set was a completely different story as the two squads battled neck and neck. Rollins' largest lead was early, as they jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. Barry stormed back, scoring the next four points to take a one-point lead. After exchanging points in groups of three at a time, Barry found themselves ahead late at 19-15. Undeterred, the Tars scored five of the next six points to tie things up at twenty thanks to kills from Begley, Yeager and Gerard. Neither team could expand their lead by more than two, which led to extra time. A kill by Baldridge gave Rollins a 26-25 lead, but three straight points from the Bucs put the set away, 28-26. During set two, Rollins and Barry tied each other a whopping 13 times. Both teams struck efficiently at the net, with 18 kills for Barry and 17 for the Tars. 
• Rollins used the other facets of their game in set three, namely defense and serving. Yeager and Begley were especially strong on the defensive side of the net, sending back multiple attack attempts from the Bucs. At one point, Rollins held a 16-10 lead, and seemed to be in command. A four-point run from Barry made things interesting, but kills from Gerard and Yeager cushioned the lead back to a comfortable level. Attack errors plagued the Buccaneers as they recorded eight in the set, which led to their second negative attack percentage of the night. Rollins would end up taking set three by a final of 25-18. Baldridge was responsible for three kills, as well as two service aces. 
• The momentum carried over to set four for Rollins as Gerard started things off with one of her five aces on the night. Riley Spurlin then added a pair of kills to give the Tars an early 5-2 lead. Begley, Baldridge, and Gerard all added points as well during the aggressive Tars attack. With Barry on the ropes, the Bucs turned to senior Yileen Ng He, who served up three straight aces to give Barry an 11-9 lead. Not to be outdone, both Gerard and Charlie Durbin added aces on the Rollins end to tie things up at 13. A few moments later, Gerard went nuclear. With the score 17-15 Rollins, the freshman blasted three straight kills to make it 20-15. A service error, coupled with three straight attack errors from Rollins, brought Barry right back in to the game. Gerard stepped up once more, piling on another three kills in the final five points, including the game-winner, as the Tars won 25-23. 

Head Coach Mika Robinson had this to say about her team's effort: "Our hitters did a great job being intentional with their attacks tonight, and we consistently bettered balls throughout the match. They have been working really hard all season despite the various setbacks with injuries, etc., and we were so happy to see them get the reward for that hard work. They have improved in every aspect of the game, and it showed tonight against a very good Barry team."

Rollins finished the night with 59 kills at .251%. Gerard led all scorers with 19, followed by Baldridge at 15, and Spurlin at nine. Rebecca Kuehn was heavily involved in the attack, posting 50 assists on the night. Gerard had five of the Tars' ten aces, with Baldridge (2), Durbin (2), and Adriane Griffith adding in that stat column as well. The defense tallied eight blocks, with Begley claiming two solo and six assisted blocks on the night. 

The Tars will hit the road this weekend as they face Lynn on Friday night at 7:00 pm and Palm Beach Atlantic at 4:00 pm on Saturday.