Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FORT MYERS – In a tournament that features some of the nation's best teams, No. 15 Polk State Volleyball proved it was up to the challenge on Friday for day one of the Battle at the Beach Invitational.

The Eagles collected a pair of four-set victories over fellow top-15 teams to begin the season, including a 3-1 win over No. 1 Iowa Western Community College in the opener. Polk State capped the night with another 3-1 win – this time over No. 12 Jefferson College (Mo.)

After Polk State and Iowa Western traded 25-20 wins in the first two sets, the Eagles seized momentum by erasing a 9-2 deficit to win the third set, 25-21. Polk State closed it out with a convincing 25-15 fourth-set victory.

Polk State dominated statistically, finishing with a .243 attack percentage to just a .173 percentage for the Reivers. Andrea Da Silva led the Eagles with a match-high 19 kills. Maria Munoz added 10 kills and 10 digs in the victory.

In her first career match, freshman Irene Mostardine came up huge with a team-high 14 digs and four service aces for Polk State. Emmanouela Christodoulou and Cherlin Antonio finished with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, for Iowa Western.

As was the case in the opener, the Eagles won the first set and dropped the second to Jefferson. After grinding out a 25-22 victory in the third set, Polk State closed things out with a 25-17 win in the fourth.

Kaila Ru and Alanae Margaritha each led the Eagles with a match-high 12 kills while Mostardine tallied a team-best 14 digs for the second straight match. Munoz added 12 digs. Kyndia Smith and Maureen Mathews each tallied 10 kills to lead the Vikings.

"I'm so proud of the heart and effort our players showed today," said Head Coach German Del Valle. "For every challenge we faced, we had an answer. To get two victories against top-15 teams is a great feeling, but we have to stay focused, come out and try to get two more tomorrow."

The Eagles will wrap up the Battle at the Beach Invitational with two more matches on Saturday. After taking on Trinity Valley Community College at 3 p.m., Polk State will take on another ranked opponent in No. 9 Central Wyoming College at 5:30 p.m.  Matches will stream live at https://fswbucs.com/FSWBucsLive.