Box Score WINTER HAVEN – For Polk State Volleyball so far this season, the old saying has been true – there's no place like home. The 15th-ranked Eagles remained perfect on their home floor with a straight-set victory over Hillsborough Community College on Wednesday night, 3-0.
Polk State (9-5, 5-2 Citrus Conference) took the match with set wins by scores of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-18.
Keionna Mackey led the Eagles with 15 kills.
Crismeyli Rodriguez added 10 kills, including five in the first set to get Polk State off to a strong start.
Polk State never trailed in the opening set, but Hillsborough Community did draw even at 13 before the Eagles seized control with a 5-1 run. Rodriguez had three kills during the run.
"Cris was great tonight," Head Coach Dayanna Barbosa said. "She did a really good job. It was nice to see some new faces show up and play well tonight. We want our whole team to be prepared."
After trailing 10-7 in the second set, Polk State stormed ahead with a 14-3 run. An ace by
Faith Marquis put the Eagles ahead for good.
A'lanae Margaritha and Rodriguez came up with back-to-back blocks to highlight the run.
Margaritha set the tone early in each of the first two sets. After recording the first two kills of the night for Polk State, she came up with a block at the net to get the scoring started in the second set. Margaritha had a strong all-around performance with seven kills, four total blocks, and a pair of service aces.
"I just try to stay positive and do what I have to do," Margaritha said. "We're working on getting better. We'll see some teams we've played already again."
In the third set, Polk State trailed 7-5 early before a 9-2 run put the Eagles ahead for good. For the second straight set, it was an ace from Marquis that ultimately put Polk State ahead for good. As a team, the Eagles finished with four aces in the set, including two from Margaritha and one from
Irene Mostardini.
"HCC is a good team," Mostardini said. "Our team can play good volleyball with any lineup. It's great to see everyone get involved. When it's their turn, they step up."
Mostardini led Polk State with 26 digs in the victory.
Madi O'Sullivan again led the Eagles in assists -- this time with 18.
Since dropping a pair of hard-fought road matches to No. 1 Florida SouthWestern State College and No. 2 Miami Dade College, the Eagles have completed a pair of home sweeps. For the season, Polk State is now a perfect 3-0 at home.
"It feels good to be winning at our house," Barbosa said. "We've now got to prepare for the next set of matches."
With Wednesday's win, Polk State has now played everyone in the Citrus Conference. The Eagles will wrap up a three-match homestand and go for the season sweep of No. 12 Eastern Florida State College on Saturday. Match time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
