BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Tars went the distance with Lynn on Saturday afternoon, pushing the Fighting Knights through five sets in Sunshine State Conference action. Rollins bounced back from a tight opening-set loss to take the next two, but Lynn responded to force a fifth before edging the Tars 3-2 (28-30, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 15-17).

The two sides went back and forth from the opening serve, Vivian Scuteri putting away the first Rollins kill before Cameron Grange, adding an ace to give the Tars their first lead at 5-4. Kayla Goodloe, Robinson Repass, and Kai Hazelett all found the floor early, but neither side was able to create much separation as the score remained tight.

Lynn worked its way in front as the set moved along, but the Tars continued to answer. Hazelett pulled Rollins within one at 20-19 before Grange made it 21-20. The Fighting Knights pushed their advantage to 24-21, but the Tars refused to go away. Grange found the floor and followed with an ace shortly after to even the score at 24.

Hazelett gave Rollins set point at 25-24 before the two sides continued to trade blows. Grange put the Tars back in front 26-25, while a Repass block gave Rollins another set-point opportunity at 27-26. Lynn answered each time, eventually breaking the 28-all tie with the final two points to take the marathon opener 30-28.

Rollins came out firing in the second, Repass opening the set with a kill before the Tars jumped ahead 3-0. Grange added another before Willow Barron and Scuteri teamed up at the net, with Barron following with a solo block and a kill to stretch the advantage to 8-2.

The Tars continued to control the set from there. Scuteri and Goodloe found the floor before Barron added another kill, keeping Rollins comfortably in front. Lynn began to chip away as the set moved along, but the Tars held off the Fighting Knights as Hazelett added another kill and Tawnee Shaw stepped in with the service ace. Hazelett, Grange, and Barron continued to press down the stretch, helping to take the second 25-22 and even the match at one set apiece.

Rollins carried the momentum into the third, with Scuteri, Grange, and Goodloe helping the Tars jump ahead 5-1. Lynn worked its way back into the set, but Rollins continued to hold the advantage as Hazelett and Repass joined the attack and Aryanna Spainhower added a pair of aces.

The Fighting Knights eventually pulled even at 16 before the two sides traded points into the late stages. Hazelett put Rollins back in front 18-16 before Repass followed with another kill. The Tars then created some separation, Hazelett finding the floor again before Grange made it 23-20 and a Lelolai Paulino-Dinzey ace pushed Rollins to set point. Lynn fought off two, but a Fighting Knight error finished the third 25-22, giving the Tars a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Rollins grabbed the first two points of the fourth behind Repass, but Lynn quickly answered. Grange helped keep the Tars in front early before the Fighting Knights used a run to turn a 6-5 Rollins advantage into a 10-6 lead.

Hazelett stopped the run with a kill, but Lynn continued to build its advantage. The Tars battled to cut into the deficit from kills by Scuteri and Repass, but the Fighting Knights kept Rollins from putting together a sustained run, taking the fourth 25-19 to send the match to a deciding fifth.

Lynn jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth, but the Tars responded immediately. Barron put away a kill and followed with a block before Grange pulled Rollins within one at 5-4. Addilyn Kegerreis then came up with a rejection to even the score at five.

The two sides traded points from there before Lynn took a 9-7 advantage. Hazelett cut the deficit to one, Repass doing the same moments later as the Tars continued to battle down the stretch. Grange came alive late, putting away back-to-back kills to tie the score at 11 before another gave Rollins a 12-12 tie. The Tars then took the lead on a Lynn error before Grange slammed home another to put Rollins at match point, 14-12.

The Fighting Knights fought off both opportunities, a crucial lift call on match point flipping the momentum as Lynn scored three straight to take a 15-14 lead. Molly Morris answered with a kill to keep the Tars alive at 15-all, but Lynn took the final two points to escape with the 17-15 fifth-set win.

Grange led the Rollins attack with 19 kills on a .359 clip, adding three aces and 12 digs. Hazelett followed with 12 kills, while Repass added 11 and Scuteri finished with 8. Barron put together an efficient afternoon with 7 kills on a .429 hitting percentage.

Garza dished out 27 assists, while Morris added 23. Paulino-Dinzey led the back row with 14 digs while Barron led the front with five total blocks. The Tars finished with 16 total blocks in the five-set battle.

Rollins moves to 10-17 overall and 3-13 in SSC play, while Lynn improves to 21-3 and 13-2 in conference action. The Tars are back in action on Friday, November 6, to head to Saint Leo to take on the Lions at 6 p.m.