2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball Team Bounces Back To Top
Tars rebound impressively on road after loss to the Florida
Juan Bernal
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: Sports
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The Mocs came into the match ranked 15th in the nation and had only one loss to their impressive record on the season. The Mocs showed who was boss early on in the match, and never stopped putting it to the hosts.
The Mocs forced the Tars into both mental and physical errors, and the Tars did not show the poise, perseverance or the resilience that they had possessed all season. However, the Tars did show a flash of promise in the third set. Unfortunately , it was all for not as the Tars dropped their second consecutive conference match 19-30, 19-30, and 24-30.
It was clearly the worst match of the season for the Tars, and they would look to rebound two days later against fellow conference rival Florida Tech Panthers.
The Tars traveled to Melbourne as a team that had some soul searching to do. They had their backs against the wall, and needed a win of any kind to raise their confidence.
More importantly they needed to get over the eventthat happened 48 hours prior to the opening of the match against the Panthers. The Panthers were clearly crunk and amped for the match, as the raucous crowd gave the Tars problems early.
The Tars had one of their best starts of the season, leading by as much as six points, but they were unable to hold on, and dropped the first set 28-30.
On the verge of a potentially dangerous start to the conference slate of the season, the Tars had to find their inner strength and perseverance to succumb the Panthers. And respond they did.
In the second set Coach Sindee Snow made adjustments against the Panthers' outside hitters, and the Panthers were not able to figure out the Tars' new alignment for the rest of the match. The Tars were able to regain their consistency from earlier in the season and go on to win the next three sets handily, 30-26, 30-15 and 30-19.
Julia Caner and Allison North led the Tars with 17 and 14 kills respectively. Stephanie Nichols added 13 kills. Lacey Malarky added another 50-plus assist game to her résumé by providing 52, to lead the Tars fast paced offense. The Tars improved their record to 15-4 and 1-2 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Coach Sindee Snow was ecstatic about the way her team rebounded from such an anguishing defeat. "In the game against Florida Tech, we regained our composure as a team by playing well. We played with a sense of togetherness. Our reserves played well, and our team played with consistent intensity. The effort really influenced the team camaraderie."
This week the Tars will hit the Sunshine's state's west coast for a pair of conference matchups. They face the 7th ranked Tampa Spartans on the 28th, and on the 30th they visit St. Leo.
After their trip, they will come back to their stomping grind, the Alfond Sports Center for seven straight home matches which includes key conference showdowns, and the pivotal South Region Tournament on October 14-15.