Falcons Take Down Pioneers 3-0 to Close Out Round One of Citrus Conference Play

Daytona Beach, FLA. – The Falcons finished up the first round of Citrus Conference play with a straight 3 set win against Indian River State College on the road.  The win last night puts the Falcons 4-3 in conference play overall sitting in the 4^th place position in the FCSAA Region 8 polls and 17^th nationally.

Throughout the first round the team took losses to nationally ranked conference opponents (#1) Florida Southwestern, (#2) Miami Dade, and (#15) Polk State College.  However, the team took care of business against Indian River State College, Santa Fe College, Hillsborough Community College, and (#12) ranked Eastern Florida State College.

The Falcons success can only be defined as a team effort. Sophomore Right Side attacker Julia Rienks continues to be a threat offensively for the Falcons, leading the team with 162 kills on the season.  Middle Blocker Emma Testi is also continuing to make her presence know on both sides of the ball as she is the second leading scorer on the team and second in blocks.  Freshmen Leia Lund and Cora Hamilton have also made a name for themselves in the Citrus Conference.  Hamilton is a beast at the net, leading the team in blocks, and Lund has been one of the most consistent players both offensively and defensively for the Falcons.  Returning setter, Mya Mendoza, and Freshman setter, Courtney McGuire, are the perfect duo, both executing the Falcon offense seamlessly. None of these efforts would be possible however without the ball control and defensive of our defensive specialists Maggie Turner, Jaycee Davis, Bella Dillman, and Sophomore Libero, Arianna Warner, who leads the team in digs with 231. 

“The first round of Citrus Conference play certainly had its fair share of highs and lows...” Stated Head Coach Laura Booker Anderson.  She continued to say “We have a lot of youth in our program so there was definitely a learning curve early on and a, somewhat anticipated, roller coaster of play.  These young ladies have been working hard and are truly bought in. This team has so much talent, but more importantly, they are great teammates and I truly believe a strong culture can make big things happen. We’ve yet to hit our peak and that is what is most exciting!”

The team will hit the road on Saturday (9/30) to kick off round two of conference play against the Saints of Santa Fe College at 2pm in Gainesville.  Watch the game live on the Saints Sports Network! https://www.santafesaints.com/SaintsSportsNetwork