CARROLLTON, Ga. --- A hard fought effort came up on the short end as the Mississippi College volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-21, 30-28, 25-18) decision to Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon to close out the South Region Crossover on the campus of the University of West Georgia.
Jenna Campbell paced the offensive effort for the Blue and Gold as she totaled a team-best nine kills in the three sets.
Kayana Mitchell added eight while
Madison Frazier supplied seven kills.
Bailee Berringer dished out a team-leading 18 assists while
Sydney Chandler compiled 12.
Defensively,
Alex Hackett garnered nine digs while
Jamila Biglow totaled five blocks in the match.
"We fought really hard today after losing the two matches yesterday," head coach
Peter Cosmiano said. "I thought yesterday we turned a corner with this team and then believing in themselves more and more. Today was evidence of that process. We never gave up in the match and fought all the way through. We think we can continue this growth with this still very young team as we get back into conference play."
In the opening set, FIT jumped out to an early 7-1, but MC rallied back to knot the contest at 11-all. The Panthers pulled away again gathering a seven-point advantage (21-14), but for the second time in the set, the Lady Choctaws responded pulling within 24-21, but Tech picked up the final point of the set on a MC miscue.
On the second game, the two squads exchanged leads and ties, including eight through the final points of the match. Neither team held more than a two-point advantage the entire set. MC placed itself into a set-point opportunity, but the Panthers withstood and claimed the final three points to claim the 2-0 lead heading into the final contest.
In the final game, MC held as much as a 15-11 lead, but FIT went on a 10-5 run to capture a 21-17 lead. The Maroon and White followed claiming four of the final five points and securing the match.
Alea Hamm led a trio of Panthers in double-digit kills with 13. Marilyn Dick and Olivia Hersey each tabbed in 10 kills. Kiersten Rosa compiled 30 assists. Kelley Germain led with seven digs.
Mississippi College returns to action on Friday, Oct. 23 as it travels to Jackson, Tenn., for a 7 p.m. match at Union.
