Tars Trip Up Tech

WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 2, 2021) - The Rollins Tars earned their second conference win of the year on Tuesday evening, dispatching the Florida Tech Panthers 3-1. The win moves Rollins to 7-18 (2-13 SSC), while Florida Tech falls to 4-21 (2-12 SSC).

How it Happened:

• Both teams came out aggressively in the first set, combining for eleven ties. The Panthers gained the first bit of momentum by going up 9-4, but a five-point Tars run, highlighted by two Alexis Yeager kills, knotted the score at nine each. A barrage of exchanged points led to another tie at 18 before Rollins was able to build a lead thanks to kills from Lana Gerard and Andie Baldridge to go up 21-18. They would end up holding on, with a Baldridge kill sealing the win, 25-21. Rollins posted 15 kills in the set at a .227 efficiency rate.
• It seemed as though a different Florida Tech team took the court in set two. A 2-0 lead turned to 7-1, then 10-2, then 13-4. Rollins was a tad sloppy with their play, committing six errors in the first half of the set. The Tars were unable to string together more than two points in a row at any point as Tech took the set easily, 25-14. 
• Set three was another back and forth affair. Down 6-5, Lana Gerard helped the Tars take a commanding lead with a kill and back-to-back aces giving them an 11-7 advantage. With Tech hanging around, another short spurt of points went in Rollins' favor, highlighted by two kills from Riley Spurlin. Tech could not get over the hump as Rollins remained in control for the remainder of the match. Once again, it was Baldridge coming through late with a pair of kills to clinch the set, 25-20. 
• With a sizable home crowd supplying the energy, Rollins jumped out to an early set four lead, 7-3. Gerard, Spurlin, and Baldridge combined for five kills early on. With the score 11-6 Tars, Florida Tech showed fight by scoring six straight to take a 12-11 lead. The Tars attack carried them in the middle of the set with Emma Begley and Baldridge ripping off three straight kills. Still, the Panthers pushed forward, pulling within one at 20-19. Florida Tech stymied their own momentum with consecutive attack errors, giving Rollins a 22-19 lead. Gerard, Yeager, and senior Candace Doxey then tallied the last three points of the match to seal the win, 25-22. The Tars were extremely efficient in the final frame, totaling 14 kills and only two errors for an attack percentage of .353.

Baldridge had a monster game, leading all scorers with 17 kills. Gerard was right there with her, totaling 15 kills and adding to her aces total with three more. She currently has 43, just one shy of the SSC lead. The frontline of defense was strong, totaling nine blocks. Five players finished with at least two, headlined by Yeager's four. Charlie Durbin was everywhere on the court tonight, ending the night with 22 digs and countless hustle plays.

Next up for the Tars is a tough matchup with the #17 Nova Southeastern Sharks on Friday. It is the last home game of the season for Rollins, and they will be honoring the five seniors on the team before the game. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm.