WINTER PARK, Fla. (Sept. 12, 2023) – The Rollins volleyball team rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set that came down to the wire on Tuesday night against visiting Embry-Riddle, but the Tars ultimately came up just short, falling 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 12-25, 22-25, 16-14). Rollins now stands at 5-4 on the year and 0-1 in SSC matches, while ERAU goes to 7-2 and 1-0 in conference play.
Lana Gerard led all players with 21 kills to go along with 10 digs for her second double-double of the season, while
Abbie Tutor contributed a career-high 11 kills and hit a match-leading .588 while adding three blocks.
Natalie Horsley dished out a match-best 39 assists and picked up eight digs, while
Adriana Lopez collected a match-high 19 digs and added three of the Tars' 10 service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One
- Embry-Riddle took an early 7-4 lead and slowly built it to 17-11.
- The Tars battled back, using a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to a single point at 18-17.
- After ERAU regained a 23-19 advantage, Rollins scored four straight to tie the set at 23.
- The Eagles then scored on back-to-back kills to take the opening set, 25-23.
Set Two
- Set two saw the visitors again take an early, lead this time pulling out to a 6-2 advantage.
- The Tars worked to get within a point, which they were able to do on seven different occasions, but they couldn't string together enough points to draw even for the rest of the frame.
- Embry-Riddle closed out the set on an 8-2 burst to win it, 25-18.
Set Three
- Rollins came out of the locker room after the extended break between sets two and three and looked like a whole different team, running out to an 8-1 lead in a blink.
- The Tars kept pushing, stretching the margin to double-digits at 14-4.
- A block from Gerard and Emma Begley made it 23-10, the largest margin of the set, and the home side gladly exchanged sideouts from there to clinch the set, 25-12.
Set Four
- ERAU looked to flip the script in the fourth set, winning six of the first seven points to take a big early lead.
- The lead grew as large as six at 11-5, but a Gerard kill sparked a 5-0 response that brought Rollins back to within a point at 11-10.
- After an Eagle point, Molly Norris put down two consecutive kills to even the set at 12 apiece.
- Embry-Riddle responded by scoring five of the next six points, but the Tars reacted with a 4-0 burst to tie things once again at 17.
- The visitors took the next three points, but a Tutor kill ignited the Tars to score eight of the final 10 points of the set, giving Rollins a 25-22 win and sending the match to a fifth set.
Set Five
- The Eagles took a quick 4-0 lead in the fifth, and before long they were up 7-3.
- A Jadyn Troutman kill helped get the Tars going, who took the next four points to knot things up at seven.
- After trading sideouts, ERAU scored four of the next five, giving the visitors a 12-9 advantage.
- Following two more sideouts that made it 13-10, Rollins rallied to win four of the next five points, staving off two match points in the process, to tie the set at 14-14.
- The comeback bid ultimately came up just short, as Embry-Riddle was able to bounce back with two straight kills to capture a 16-14 win and escape Warden Arena with a 3-2 victory.
UP NEXT:
The Tars will return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 16, when they visit Florida Tech in another SSC match. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. in Melbourne.
Fans can follow the Tars all season long at RollinsSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on
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