Lady Falcons Go 2-1 at Falcon Invitational
Following a week hiatus from volleyball due to Hurricane Dorian, the Falcons were finally back on the court. Daytona State hosted seven Region VIII teams at the DME Sports Complex this past weekend.
Friday's match ups for the Falcons were Pensacola and Broward College. Daytona State opened up with Pensacola and were able to defeat the Pirates in three straight sets. After controlling set one, the Falcons found themselves behind most of set two. Pensacola had the Falcons against the ropes, leading the Falcons 24-18. One sideout point kept the Pirates from capturing set two from the Falcons. Sophomore setter, Bruna Avilla, rank off 8 straight points for the Falcons, allowing them to capture set two. Daytona State College then went on to defeat the Pirates in the third set.
Sophomore outside hitters, Carla Hernandez and Gabi Soto led the Falcons attack. Hernandez amassed 12 kills on the match, while Soto added 10. Avila directed the Falcon offense, recording 35 assists. Libero, Nicole Rodriguez, had 12 digs on the match.
The second match of the day for the Falcons proved to be quite the match, as Daytona State College took on an athletic Broward College squad. The Falcons were dominated by Broward in set one, scoring just 15 points on the set. However, Daytona State rebounded quite well winning both sets two and three before faltering in set four. Broward was able to seize control early in the final set, and never relinquished control, taking down the Falcons 15-9 in the final set of play.
Hernandez led the Falcon's offense with an impressive 18 kills. Rodriguez had a big night defensively, closing out the match with 22 digs. While, Avila recorded 46 assists on the match.
Daytona State's final match up for the tournament was State College of Florida. The Falcons found themselves seesawing back-and-forth early on with State College before taking over the match and claiming the win 3-0. The Falcons won in dominant fashion, 25-15, 25-17, 25-12.
Hernandez closed out an impressive weekend recording 14 kills on the match. Sophomores, Alexis Thompson and Soto, contributed a combined 11 kills on the match to round out the Falcon's offense. Avila had 27 assists, and freshman, Derionah Abner led the Falcons defense with 7 digs.
"Overall I was proud of the way the ladies played this weekend. We were coming off of a week of not touching the volleyball due to the forecasted hurricane, so I wasn't sure where we would be physically and mentally. The team proved that they could rebound well and ultimately play competitively with solid execution," commented Coach Stegall on the Falcon's play this weekend.
The Falcons will be on their home court for the first time this season as they open up home play with the Hawks of Hillsborough Community College Tuesday, September 10th at 6pm.