FSU Seminoles defeat Hawaiian opponents in double header dual – Volleyball news
The Seminoles of the Florida State University exhibited a stellar performance against conventional rival Hawaii in the Sand Volleyball Tournament, which took place on Thursday, March 29.
The Seminole Sand Volleyball Complex in Tallahassee, Florida hosted the tournament, whereas the hosts totally dominated the scene.
In the two rounds of the tournament, a total of 10 matches were played. The Seminoles proved their endeavours in the first round and dropped only one match. They closed the first spell of matches with a record of 4-1. Quite similarly, the FSU ladies carried
the momentum and finished the second round with identical record of 4-1.
The duo of junior Aurora Newgard and sophomore Brittany Tiegs represented FSU in the opening match of tournament. They were challenged by Hawaiian pairing of Stoltzman/Hartong. The home duo opened the match in a great way and claimed first set but dropped
the decision after losing next two sets in a row. The final set scores were 2-1 (17-21, 21-17, 15-12).
The loss of opening match was sheer disappointment for FSU fans. However, the home duos did not allow opponents to come up in rest of the matches. The team of Stepanova and Pardon put FSU back on track with second match victory against Nordyke and Lee of
Hawaii.
The Seminoles posted 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) on board to claim second match. Furthermore, Djurdjevic/Pavels of FSU overpowered another Hawaiian duo of Croson/Long in third match. The visiting team gave a good competition to FSU but dropped both sets with narrow
margin of two points, 0-2 (20-22, 18-21).
With two straight victories, FSU got its full form back. McGregor/Haworth and Wickstrom/Kiley of FSU defeated Stauber/Griffiths and Uiato/Blake in the following two matches, respectively. At the end of first round of the tournament FSU improved to 4-1 record.
The second round of the matches did not bring a better luck for Hawaii. They managed to win only one match, while FSU pulled off success in four matches. Hence, Seminoles once again achieved the 4-1 record and celebrated their victory.
“Hawai'i was the one team we expected to be really good that we hadn't seen yet. We beat them 4-1 twice, so I feel good about where we are at. I just need to keep the team sharp, energized and healthy for the next four weeks until we get to the national
championships,” said Florida State head coach Danalee Corso.
Likewise, Pardon of FSU said, “Hopefully we can continue to play this well. We'll have to face Hawai'i again this weekend. We have to stay humble and focused, cool and collected. It was a great match. It feels good to defeat such a strong team. We had to
battle it out.”
In the next run, the Seminoles will take part in the AVCA National Championships, which is scheduled to be held from April 27-29 in Gulf Shores, Florida.
Tags: