Argonauts split final day of Red Elephant Cafe South Regional Crossover
West Florida concludes tournament with a 3-1 record
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 22 West Florida volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Rollins Saturday before coming from behind to force a fifth set against Eckerd, eventually falling 3-2 to split the final day of the Red Elephant Café South Regional Crossover. The Argonauts moved to 17-7 on the season and ended the tournament with a 3-1 record.
No. 22 West Florida def. Rollins 26-2,4 25-21, 25-20
Leading the attack for the second time in three matches was Autumn Duyn (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) as the only Argonaut to reach double-digit kills with 13. Three others fell just one kill short of the double-figure mark while K.C. Dobbins (Winston-Salem, N.C./Arkansas) had 23 assists and Colleen Starrs (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) had 19 digs.
Neither team gained more than a four point advantage in the back-and-forth first set that involved 15 ties and seven lead changes, but West Florida benefitted from two Tars errors out of a Rollins (13-10) timeout to win 26-24.
The Argonauts bolted out to a 9-3 lead in the second frame and maintained the cushion for the majority of the game, the Tars only managing to pull within two at the end 23-21 before a kill by Sarah Scott (Plainfield, Ill./Texas-San Antonio) and a service ace by Starrs ended the set 25-21. A close third set ensued until UWF used a 5-1 run to grab a 22-17 advantage and coast to a 25-20 victory.
Eckerd def. No. 22 West Florida 26-28, 17-25, 27-25, 25-22, 16-18
Haley Shackelford (Colorado Springs, Colo./Yavapai) was one of four Argonauts with double-digit kills, amassing 16 while Scott had 11. Sierra Hansen (Layton, Utah/ Southern Idaho) had the lone double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs while Duyn picked up 24 digs.
The Argonauts offense struggled mightily in the final match of the tournament, hitting just .159 as a team. Despite leading much of the first set, UWF began to falter midway through and allowed Eckerd (15-7) to jump ahead on a 7-2 run at the end of the set to eventually win 28-26. The Tritons took that momentum into the next set and built a large 23-14 cushion that UWF could not overcome, falling 25-17.
After switching up the rotation to change both the offensive and defensive strategies, West Florida regained its momentum by staying with Eckerd point-for-point almost the entire third frame to extend the match with a 27-25 win. They fell behind briefly in the fourth set before surging from four points down to take a 17-14 lead and eventually the game 25-22.
West Florida had to work hard again in the deciding set after falling behind 8-4, and managed to knot the score four times from the 12-12 mark until two final Triton kills sealed West Florida’s fate 18-16.
The Argonauts return home for the first time in a couple of weeks next weekend to host three Gulf South Conference matches, beginning with Christian Brothers Friday at 6 p.m. CT. For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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