HOOVER, Ala. (Oct. 15, 2022) – The Rollins volleyball team showed a flare for the dramatic on Saturday, winning a pair of matches in five sets to finish the South Region Crossover with a perfect 3-0 record. The Tars took down Christian Brothers 3-2 (25-13, 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-8) in the morning before downing Valdosta State 3-2 (25-13, 16-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-13) in the nightcap. With the wins, the Tars improve to 7-14 on the season, while CBU drops to 3-14 and VSU falls to 8-17.
RC 3, CBU 2
Lana Gerard tied for the match lead with 14 kills and added 11 digs and three service aces, while
Andie Baldridge chipped in with 13 kills and nine digs.
Makayla Moran tallied 12 kills while hitting .526 and
Emma Begley added 12 kills and five blocks while hitting .423.
Natalie Horsley led all players with a season-high 54 assists and
Adriana Lopez picked up a match-best 19 digs.
Maddi Rowley led the Bucs with 14 kills to go along with nine digs, while Mayseyn Bruscke had 10 kills and a team-leading 15 digs. Tia Rizvi tallied 17 assists, 11 digs, and nine kills, and Rebecca King had a team-best 20 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One
- Rollins quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead and wasted no time extending it to double-digits, pulling ahead by a 17-6 score.
- CBU was only able to string together multiple points on two occasions in the set, allowing the Tars to run away with it, 25-13.
Set Two
- The Bucs took an early 5-2 lead in set two, but the Tars quickly rallied to tie things up at eight.
- A 7-2 run put Rollins in front, 19-16, which would prove to be its largest lead of the frame.
- Christian Brothers answered back, closing out the set by winning eight of the final 10 points to win it, 25-22.
Set Three
- A 5-0 run gave CBU an early 10-5 lead in the third.
- Rollins again battled back, eventually drawing even at 17.
- The Bucs were able to finish the set strong again, winning four of the last five points to take the set, 25-21.
Set Four
- Set four played out similarly to the previous two sets, with Christian Brothers holding a 13-9 lead midway through the frame before a Rollins run got the Tars back to even at 16.
- This time, however, Rollins continued to push, eventually turning that run into a 9-2 spurt that gave the Tars a 20-17 lead.
- Neither side won a point on serve for the rest of the set, which was all Rollins needed to claim a 25-22 set win, sending the match to a fifth and final set.
Set Five
- After the Tars won the first two points of the fifth, the two sides exchanged 3-0 runs, resulting in a 5-3 Rollins lead.
- A 5-0 burst pushed the Tar advantage to a comfortable 11-5 margin.
- Rollins wrapped up the match with a 4-0 run, including three Baldridge kills, to win the fifth set, 15-8.
RC 3, VSU 2
Moran led all players with a career-high 16 kills and six blocks while hitting .303. Gerard chipped in with eight kills and 10 digs, while Begley added a career-high nine blocks (two solo), four kills, and seven digs.
Adriana Lopez collected a match-best 20 digs and
Natalie Horsley compiled a match-best 35 assists and 14 digs.
Lyara Rosario, Jojo Smith, and Christina Pettigrew all tied for the team lead with nine kills for Valdosta State, with Rosario adding 16 digs and three service aces while Smith picked up 14 digs and five service aces. Olivia Piazza led the Blazers with 18 digs to go along with three service aces, while Guilia Dias (21 assists) and Victoria Zarazel (15 assists) shared the setting duties.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One
- Rollins quickly ran out to a 7-1 lead in the first set before the Blazers battled back to within two at 8-6.
- The Tars answered back, going on an 8-1 spurt to extend the lead to double figures at 19-9.
- Rollins finished the set by winning the final four points to take it by a score of 25-13.
Set Two
- The Blazers took an early 6-2 lead and never looked back in set two.
- VSU used a 6-1 burst to extend the margin to 12-5, and before long the Blazers had a 16-7 lead.
- Rollins couldn't build any momentum to make a comeback as Valdosta State won the set, 25-16.
Set Three
- The Tars scored seven straight points to pull ahead early, 9-2, in the third.
- Valdosta State rallied, using a 10-1 run to take the lead, 16-13.
- Rollins briefly regained the lead at 18-17 before the Blazers pulled out to a 23-21 lead.
- The Tars scored the next two points to tie it at 23, and a Gerard kill staved off VSU's first set point, tying it at 24.
- The Blazers captured the next two points, however, clinching the set by a 26-24 score to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set Four
- Rollins got off to a fast start in the fourth, winning the first four points.
- A 4-0 burst gave the Tars an 11-6 advantage in the middle stages of the frame.
- Another 4-0 run increased the lead to 17-9, and Rollins ran away with it late, ending the set on an 8-2 run to win it, 25-13.
Set Five
- Rollins wasted no time jumping out to a big lead in the fifth, winning six of the first seven points and pushing the margin to 8-2.
- The Tars held a comfortable 13-7 edge when Valdosta State rattled off six consecutive points to tie things up at 13.
- Rollins regained its footing, scoring points on the next two rallies thanks to kills from Gerard and Begley, finishing off the win, 15-13.
UP NEXT:
The Tars will return home for their first home match in over a month when they host Saint Leo on Tuesday, Oct. 18. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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