Winter Park, Fla. – Rollins fell to top-ranked Tampa inside Warden Arena on Friday evening, dropping a competitive three-set match (14–25, 27–29, 22–25).
The Spartans came out firing to open the first, using a 12–4 start to grab early control. The Tars responded with a four-point stretch of their own, highlighted by a Makayla Moran kill and two service aces from Emma Gongora, but Tampa's consistent attack carried them to the set win. Rollins found its rhythm in the second, jumping out to an early lead behind Marta Tsaneva, who sparked an offensive push. Cameron Grange added a pair of kills to extend the advantage before Tampa rallied to retake the lead. The set proved to be the tightest of the night, featuring 10 ties and four lead changes. The Tars' offense stayed balanced with seven different scorers contributing, eventually pushing ahead 22–20. Tampa responded with three straight points, but a kill off the bench from Addilyn Kegerreis brought the set even again. The two sides traded points until the Spartans edged out the frame, 29–27. Rollins posted its best offensive numbers in the third, hitting .325 as a team, fueled by 10 kills from Tsaneva in the set alone. The Tars fought back from an early 8–3 deficit, stringing together small runs to close the gap, but Tampa held steady to secure the sweep.
Tsaneva marked a collegiate career-high with 19 kills on an outstanding .484 hitting percentage. Grange followed with eight kills, hitting .208, while adding 10 digs. Setter Molly Morris guided the offense with 25 assists, and Gongora and libero Sarah Seabrooke shared team-high honors in digs with 11 apiece. At the net, Moran, Robinson Repass, and Tsaneva each added two blocks to their respective stat lines.
Rollins falls to 14–13 overall and 3–11 in SSC play, while Tampa remains undefeated at 22–0 (14–0 SSC). The Tars return to action tomorrow, Nov. 8, hosting Florida Southern at 4 p.m. inside Warden Arena.
