PUEBLO, Colo. (September 3, 2021) – For the first time in 649 days, the Rollins volleyball team competed in a match that counted in the standings. In fact, to help make up for lost time, they played two on the opening day of the Steel City Showcase, hosted by Colorado State Pueblo. In game one versus the host Thunderwolves, Rollins fell in three sets. However, they managed to pick up their first win of the year later in the day with a 3-1 win against the University of Mary Marauders.
Game One
CSU Pueblo 3, Rollins 0
- The Thunderwolves took early control of the match with a 25-18 win in the first set. After the Tars jumped out to 9-4 lead, CSUP was able to rattle off ten points in a row to take a 14-9 advantage. Rollins broke the scoring streak with a kill from freshman Lana Gerard, but Pueblo would not relinquish, and held on to win the first set.
- The Tars could not get their attack going in set number two as they fell 25-11. Rollins only tallied three kills, and were also plagued by five attack errors and four service errors.
- Colorado State Pueblo finished the sweep with a 25-16 win in the third and final set. A Rebecca Kuehn kill midway through the set made the score 13-10, but Rollins did not manage to get any closer as the Thunderwolves countered each Tars attack.
- Riley Spurlin was the team-leader in kills with seven, and also added three block assists. Payton Stack was a force for CSUP, totaling eleven kills at a .611 attack percentage and four blocks during the match.
Game Two
Rollins 3, UMary 1
- Rollins was able to bounce back with authority, claiming a 25-18 win in set one of game number two. After struggling on the attack in their game against Pueblo, the Tars' frontline was on point in this one. They totaled 14 kills against only one error at a .361% en route to their opening set win. Riley Spurlin and Rebecca Kuehn each had four kills, with Emily Diaz chipping in three. The Marauders did not help themselves either, committing a total of nine attack and ball-handling errors.
- After falling behind 13-7, UMary used a five point streak to climb back into the second set. In fact, they went on a 13-2 run to take a commanding 20-15 lead. Rollins tried to hang around, but could not get over the hump and fell 25-22.
- The Tars came out of the gates hot in set three, taking a 4-0 lead thanks to three straight Rliey Spurlin kills and an error from the Marauders. UMary would suffer from errors for the remainder of the set, totaling eleven total while also allowing the Tars to tally eleven kills. Rollins took set three in style with a Jessika Linnemeyer ace sealing the 25-17 victory.
- Once again, the frontline for the Tars showed out in the fourth and final set of the match. Rollins was able to score 16 points on attacks at an efficient .263% en route to a 25-16 win. They were also nice on defense, limiting the Marauders to four kills and eight attack errors for an attack percentage of -.125%. Emily Diaz and Spurlin each had five kills as Rollins dominated in their final set of the day, leading to their first win of the young season.
- Spurlin and Diaz each finished with 15 kills apiece. Rebecca Kuehn had a large hand in setting them up by tallying 36 assists. Two-time SSC Defensive Player of the Week Alexis Yeager also seemed to return to top form, totaling five blocks in the match.
From the Coach
"We definitely got better as the day went on today, and particularly in the serve and pass game. We were really happy with how aggressive our hitters stayed throughout the day, and we saw a lot of great things to build on this season." - Head Coach
Mika Robinson
The Tars will continue the start of their 2021 campaign with another doubleheader on Saturday. At 11:00 am, Rollins will play Minnesota-Crookston, followed by a 5:00 pm matchup with the Chadron State Eagles. Fans can
watch the games live here.
