December 6, 2019
NCAA DII South Regional
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The season came to an end for the University of West Florida volleyball team (26-9) Thursday afternoon in the NCAA Division II South Regional vs. Barry (21-11). The Argos dropped a hard-fought match to the Bucs 3-1 despite 13 kills and three blocks from Veresia Yon and 10 kills from Jordyn Poppen.
"That was great volleyball yesterday. Both teams had to fight really hard to win rallies because the defense on both sides was spectacular. We took their block out the equation after the first set and that's when the tide turned. There were some critical moments in the game when we didn't execute and Barry did. We played hard but just couldn't sustain it to extend the match to 5. Proud of our team for pushing a great team to the limit in a multitude of ways," Head Coach Melissa Wolter shared.
The Argos were offensively led by Freshman Veresia Yon who totaled 13 kills hitting .333. She was followed by Jordyn Poppen with 10 kills and then Phoebe Hozeska who had nine kills on 19 attacks hitting .500.
Hozeska also lead the team in blocks along with JoDee Kovanda who each put down five blocks. They were followed by Yon with her three blocks. In the back row Ebony Powers lead with 15 digs in the match. Poppen and Taylor Vaneekeren each had nine digs each. UWF out-blocked BU 8-6 overall.
The West Florida Argos finish the season with a 25-8 record. UWF finishes with another undefeated conference season as the 2019 GSC Conference Champions. This was the Argos 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament which ranks tied for sixth longest active streak in the country. The Argos hold a 11-14 all-time record in regional play. UWF has five seniors finished their volleyball career tonight including, Jordyn Poppen, Brogan Wallin, Phoebe Hozeska, Ebony Powers and Marissa Hackett.
"This team accomplished things that no other team I've coached in 20 years of college volleyball, had. Multiple players broke season records. Jordyn was named DC2CCA Player is the year and Player is the year in our conference. V was our first freshman to ever be named to an All Region team. But my favorite part of this team was their fight. They were never out of any match. They won 8/10 5 set matches including the GSC tournament. These seniors lead this group in an admirable way. I will remember this team as one of my all time favorites," Head Coach Melissa Wolter shared.
How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @UWFVolleyball and on Instagram at @UWFVolleyball.
