FLORENCE, S.C. – In what was an action-packed day of matches, the West Florida Volleyball team picked up two more wins on Saturday to stay unbeaten on the season.
Now 11-1 on the year, the Argonauts took down Charleston (W.V.) 3-0 in the early match before coming back in the afternoon to take down Gannon 3-2 in the final match of the FMU Invitational.
The Argonauts will now head back to Pensacola before starting conference play on Tuesday in Valdosta against Valdosta State before returning to the Field House on Friday and Saturday for their first home matches in nearly three weeks.
Against Charleston (W.V.): Taking on former volunteer assistant coach for the Argos, Tyler Kanelos, West Florida dialed up all the right play calls on Saturday taking down the Golden Eagles in straight sets.
As they have all weekend, the Argonauts attacked Charleston with a very balanced offense that had the Golden Eagles searching for answers all match.
With
Jenna Zydlo and
Madi Cooler leading the way with nine kills apiece, West Florida finished the match with 43 total kills on 40 assists and a hitting percentage of .391 as a team.
Defensively, the Argonauts picked up 44 digs in the match including a team high 17 from senior
Ashton Marshall. West Florida's blocking success was in full effect again in this match as they finished with 11 total team blocks and limited Charleston to a -.011 hitting percentage as a team.
Against Gannon: In what was arguably the best match West Florida has played all season, the Argonauts were able to outlast the Golden Knights to stay unbeaten on the weekend.
Winning in the second, third, and fifth set, West Florida played outstanding both offensively and defensively in a match where many new faces stepped up to the occasion.
Georgia Small,
Britta Hibbs, and
Alex Oliver all saw extended playing time in the second match of the day with each stepping up in big moments for the Argonauts. Oliver finished the match with 13 kills, 7 blocks, and nine digs in her biggest match of her young career.
Veresia Yon and
Kierra Potts also had big matches for West Florida each finishing with double-digit kills in part of the teams 59 kills on 54 assists.
Defensively, the Argonauts finished the match with 17 total blocks, including ten blocks from Yon, seven blocks from Oliver, and six blocks from Zydlo.
In addition to these individual match numbers, Marshall also hit a career milestone in the match surpassing her one thousandth dig as an Argonaut. The dig came in the fifth set of the match and makes Marshall just the tenth West Florida Volleyball player with 1,000 or more digs at UWF.
Next Up for West Florida: Wrapped up with opening season nonconference play, the Argonauts will now embark on their conference schedule starting Tuesday at Valdosta State.
Then on Friday and Saturday, West Florida will return to the UWF Field House to take on Auburn Montgomery and West Georgia for their first home matches in nearly three weeks. Friday's match will also be the Argonauts annual Blackout Match where fans are encouraged to wear black in what will be a very unique and fun atmosphere at the Field House.
How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at
@UWFVolleyball
