Falcons Land on #15 in Latest NJCAA DI National Poll

Fort Myers, FL – The Falcons hit the road again this past weekend, traveling to Ft. Myers, Florida, to compete in the Battle at the Beach tournament hosted by Florida Southwestern.  The team went 3-1 on the weekend, earning themselves a #15 spot on the latest NJCAA D1 National Poll. 

It was a battle from the start of the tournament as the team took on #9 ranked Utah State Eastern. The Falcons found themselves pinned against the wall as they dropped the first set, but the team rallied, winning the next 3 straight sets, 25-16, 25-23, and 25-22.  Sophomore Right Side, Julia Rienks, led the Falcons with 15 kills, hitting an impressive .370 on the match.  Following the big win, the Falcons had a sweep in 3 straight sets on in-state opponent, Palm Beach State College.  Sophomore Middle Blocker, Emma Testi, led the team in kills with 8 kills on 11 attempts with no errors.  Sophomore Libero, Arianna Warner, was a beast defensively, leading the team with a notable 17 digs.

Coming into day two of the tournament, the Falcons were to face the now #3 ranked Trinity Valley Cardinals to kick off the day.  The team started off slow and found themselves down two sets to start the match, however the team found their fight and rallied back, winning the next two sets.  During the 5^th set, the Falcons found themselves an early lead, but the Cardinals were not going to go down easy.  It was a back-and-forth battle until the Falcons ultimately fell 11-15 to a tough Trinity Valley team.  Once again, sophomores Julia Rienks and Emma Testi led the offense for the team, however Freshman Outside Hitter, Leia Lund, also found her groove in the 5-set showdown, adding in 10 kills on 29 attempts with only 1 error, hitting .310 to the Falcons offense.  Freshman Middle Blocker, Cora Hamilton, also had an impressive defensive performance at the net with 7 blocks while Libero, Arianna Warner, swept up the backcourt with 20 digs.

Despite the loss, the day was not over for the Falcons.  The team had to prepare to take on another tough opponent, the #14 ranked Monroe College Mustangs, to round out the tournament.  The battle started off tight, but the Falcons got hot and took the 1^st set 25-20.  The team certainly felt the momentum and ultimately took the next two sets (25-18, 25-21), sweeping an impressive Mustang volleyball team.  The Falcons offense was spread, having 5 Falcons (Lund, Montagnani, Testi, Rienks, & McGuire) lead the team offensively in kills.  Once again, Hamilton made her presence known at the net securing 6 blocks, while Rienks added another 5 to the Falcon stats. 

While all the Falcons shined at the Battle at the Beach Tournament, it was Middle Blocker, Emma Testi’s notable performance that captured the eyes of many, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament team. Testi recorded 37 kills on only 8 errors and 77 attempts as a MB, hitting at a remarkable .377% for the weekend, as well as adding to her stats 31 digs, 8 aces, and 12 total. 

“The team really showed up this weekend.  We played some very tough opponents during the tournament and I saw us truly rally together to gain some big wins in our pre-conference schedule.” Stated Head Coach Laura Booker Anderson.  “I always preach the importance of having a strong culture to my team and some of these big wins were a direct result of our team buying into the team culture concept. This team has a lot of potential and I can guarantee that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg!” 

Following 2 weeks of sound play, against nearly all nationally ranked opponents, the Falcons found themselves a spot at #15 in the NJCAA DI National Rankings alongside three other FCSAA Region 8 opponents (Eastern Florida #7, Miami Dade #2, and Florida Southwestern #1).  The Falcons hit the road on Saturday (9/2) to kick off Citrus Conference play against the Polk State College Eagles at 2pm EST. 

Watch the game live https://www.team1sports.com/college/?S=polkeagles