WINTER HAVEN – After getting its first win over a nationally ranked team of Head Coach Jessica Beal's tenure last year during Polk State Volleyball's annual "Dig Pink" match, history did not repeat itself on Wednesday night. The Eagles fell to No. 7 Daytona State College, 3-0.
"Dig Pink" is an annual event where players, coaches, and spectators wear pink to raise awareness for breast cancer and show support for those battling the disease. Prior to the match, there was a moment of silence for those battling cancer and another for those killed and injured in Monday's fatal crash involving a school bus on Lucerne Park Road in Winter Haven.
As for the match, Daytona State won by set scores of 25-15, 25-19, 25-17.
Camilla Freitag had the first kill of the night as Polk State took a 1-0 lead in the opening set. That would be the only lead for the Eagles as Daytona State responded with four straight points. Polk State, however, showed fight.
After falling behind 7-3, the Eagles managed to close to within one at 8-7 on a
Mariana Castano ace. The Falcons responded with four straight points and from there, it never got closer than four. Hana Jovanovic had the set-clinching kill for Daytona State.
The Falcons jumped to a commanding 9-1 lead in the second set, but Polk State refused to roll over. Castano powered the Eagles (0-18, 0-7 Citrus Conference) with five kills through two sets, including back-to-back kills that cut the lead to 14-8 in the second.
Adriauna Combs and
Dublin Fitzgerald each had four kills through two sets. Fitzgerald followed a Combs kill to cut the deficit to 23-19 – the closest that Polk State would get. Alice Santoro's push shot served as the set-clinching kill for Daytona State.
The third set went back and forth early on. The Eagles took advantage of a couple of Daytona State errors to take the early 3-2 lead. Fitzgerald's kill put Polk State up 4-3 before Castano gave the Eagles a 5-4 advantage just moments later. That would be the last lead of the night for Polk State.
Daytona State used a 9-2 run to seize control. Down by as many as seven early in the set, the Eagles closed to within five on a
Chillis Oke block at the net that cut the deficit to 16-11. A Daytona State ace ultimately ended the match.
Combs, Castano, and Fitzgerald each finished with six kills to lead Polk State.
Ana Martinez finished with 20 digs while
Jasmine Mahoney added 18 assists. Castano had both of Polk State's aces.
Santoro finished with nine kills and 10 digs for the Falcons. Emily Teets led Daytona State with 25 assists.
Polk State will play its next two matches on the road, beginning on Saturday at No. 1 Miami Dade College. The Sharks swept the Eagles when the teams met in Winter Haven last month.
