WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Backed by a win on the opening day of the Regional Crossover yesterday, the No. 10 ranked University of West Florida Volleyball team took down two more Sunshine State Conference teams on Saturday beating Lynn and No. 17 Nova Southeastern 3-1 in each match.
Now 25-1 on the season including a 10-0 mark in Gulf South Conference play, West Florida made a statement this weekend beating three of the SSC top five schools while only dropping two sets over the three matches.
Against Lynn: In the opening match of the second day of competition from the GSC/SSC Regional Crossover, the Argonauts handled business winning 3-1 over the Fighting Knights.
After stumbling in the first set allowing Lynn to overtake them near the end of the set, West Florida buckled down in the remaining three sets to pick up another big win over one of the south region's top teams.
It was yet another offensive outburst for key contributors
Tyler Fezzey and
Madi Cooler who each carried the Argonaut offense at times and kept them ahead in the final sets.
Cooler, who had a team high 18 kills, hit nearly .300 on the afternoon and picked up another double-double on the year finishing with 11 digs in the match as well. Fezzey on the other hand added 17 kills on a team high .516 hitting percentage to be a constant force from the right side all match long.
Setter,
Taylor Vaneekeren was once again on top of her game in this match finishing with 50 assists which is now the third time this season the Junior has dished out 50 or more assists in a match. Her efforts led the Argonauts to 64 kills in the match on a .317 hitting percentage as a team.
Ashton Marshall once again cemented the West Florida defense in this match leading the team in digs with 21 total in the match. This marked the fourth time this season the senior libero has surpassed the 20 dig mark on the year.
Against Nova Southeastern: Playing against the top seeded team from the SSC, West Florida battle hard in every set to tough out a 3-1 victory over the Sharks.
Picking up a huge win in the first set, West Florida dropped a closely contested second set before buckling down and winning sets three and four to win the match.
On the offensive side of the ball, four Argonauts ended the match in double digit kills backed by a 16 kill performance by
Veresia Yon. In addition to Yon's play Fezzey, Cooler, and
Alex Oliver all put 10 or more kills on the board in the match.
Vaneekeren once again dished out the ball very effectively tonight finishing with 47 assists as well as 15 digs to secure yet another double-double on the season. Beating Vaneekeren by just two in the dig category, Marshall once again led the team in digs finishing with 17 digs.
The blocking game came up huge against the Sharks tonight as the team totaled 17 total blocks in the match which is tied for the seventh most in program history. Fezzey and
Jenna Zydlo each paced the team tonight finishing with seven blocks in the match.
Next up for West Florida: The Argonauts will now head back home to resume conference play taking on Christian Brothers on Friday and Union on Saturday. Friday's match will be senior night at the Field House while Saturday will be the annual Pack-It-Pink match so come out and cheer on this great team.
How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at
@UWFVolleyball
