Box Score MELBOURNE – For Polk State Volleyball, an 0-3 start must seem like ancient history. The Eagles picked up their most impressive win of the year on Wednesday night at Titan Field House with a 3-1 win over No. 7 Eastern Florida State College.

The victory for Polk State (3-3, 2-0 Citrus Conference) was its second over a ranked team in as many matches and third straight overall. Following Wednesday's action, the Eagles were the only team that stood at 2-0 in Central Conference play and one of just three teams still undefeated in conference.

After trailing early on in the opening set, Polk State finished strong for a 25-21 victory. Karolina Zubkova's block at the net ultimately gave the Eagles the win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Titans' lone set victory came in the second with a hard-fought 26-24 decision. Sofia Kamke evened things up for Eastern Florida State with the decisive kill.

Polk State went ahead for good by closing the third set on an 8-3 run. It was again ended by another stellar play at the net – this time by Loes Peijnenburg – as the Eagles won the set, 25-19.

The fourth set proved to be the final one and the least competitive as the Eagles cruised to a 25-13 win. Polk State raced to a 6-1 lead in the set and never looked back. After an emphatic kill from Keionna Mackey gave the Eagles match point, a service error by the Titans ultimately ended the contest.

"I am so proud of these girls," Polk State Head Coach Dayanna Barbosa said. "We are playing together as a team and that's why we're starting to get the results we're getting. Our players realize and understand how important the little things are to winning."

Mackey led Polk State in kills for the second straight match, finishing with 18. Carolina Guerreiro Cruz added 15 kills.

Libero Irene Mostardini, the reigning FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week, set a new career-high with 28 digs while fellow team captain Madi O'Sullivan paced the Eagles with 39 assists. Zubkova and Peijnenburg each finished with six total blocks.

Polk State will wrap up non-conference play in Tampa for the HCC Hawks Florida Challenge with three matches in two days on Friday and Saturday. The Eagles will take on Florida State College-Jacksonville and No. 15 Monroe College on Friday. Monroe defeated Polk State at the Battle at the Beach Invitational in Fort Myers on Aug. 25 by a 3-1 score.