PENSACOLA, Fla. - West Florida took the court in the morning and afternoon for two contests on Saturday, the final day of the annual Springhill Suites Invitational at UWF Field House, and split the contests to begin its season 2-1. The No. 12 Argonauts defeated Oklahoma Baptist 3-1 in the opening contest before suffering its first setback of the season to No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State 3-0, falling victim to the Mustangs' second sweep of the day. 

WEST FLORIDA 3, OKLAHOMA BAPTIST 1 (25-13, 25-18, 16-25, 25-21)

Avery Rodgers, Jacque Martin and Damyah Joyner each entered double figures in kills to lead an offense that collectively hit .266. Rodgers staked claim to the highest mark, firing 12 kills on 25 attempts for a .440 offensive percentage. Combined with another 10 kills and a .400 outing in the afternoon match and her 17 kills with a .302 output on Thursday, Rodgers parlayed her performance into filling West Florida's spot on the all-tournament team. 

For her part, Martin had 11 kills with a .385 day, and Joyner and Alex Oliver added 10 and nine, respectively. Izabelle Sanchez contributed a team-high 23 assists, with Stephanie Barber next in line with 15 in her most extended action of the young season. Libero Meg Brackhan headed the defense with 24 digs while also registering three of her team's five aces. Bailee Sterling was one of four Argos with three blocks assisted in addition to her seven kills. The other three who made their presence felt defending the net were Rodgers, Joyner and Jenna Zydlo. 

In the first set, UWF utilized a 5-0 run while Brackhan was behind the service line sandwiched by a pair of 4-0 runs during service by Rodgers, the latter of which put the Argonauts firmly in the driver's set with a 22-11 advantage. After the Bison scratched two of the points back, a bad set gave the ball back to the hosts. Yomaris Rodriguez promptly subbed in for the first time as an Argo and fired an ace on her first touch before an attack error off her second serve sealed the frame for her squad.

While slightly closer, the second period followed a similar back-and-forth tone. This time, it was Caiden Largent earning some burn, featuring a block on her first sequence to increase the UWF lead to 18-10 and a kill to change it to 21-14. A block by Sterling and Joyner and a Sterling kill provided the two points needed to get to 25. The Bison opened the scoring for the first time in the third and the Argos were never quite able to catch up or make momentum last, with the deciding factor being a late 6-0 run from the guests. 

However, a bad set and a pair of Rodgers kills kicked the decisive set into gear with a 3-0 start. A crucial 6-1 run put UWF ahead 14-6 before the second 5-1 OBU run got them within reach at 24-21, Rodgers came up big once more by slamming a kill home off a Sanchez dime to end it.     

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE 3, WEST FLORIDA 0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-20)   

It was the Argos who were unable to recover from deficits and momentum shifts in their late matchup. The Mustangs took charge of a neck-and-neck first period with runs of 7-0 and 4-1 to overcome one-score UWF leads, the last of which was a 24-23 match point that the visitors successfully overcame with two Leah Jones kills, an ace and a UWF attack error. This frame turned out to be the closest West Florida would come to an upset. SMSU flipped the script again in the second with an 8-0 run after trailing 6-3, and concluded the set with a 5-0 span featuring a pair of Jones aces and two more miscues. 

In what turned out to be the final frame, the visitors came back once again, this time after trailing 9-4. They came within one and eventually tied it up at 10 apiece, answering every Argonaut charge for the remainder of the frame to finish a 2-0 day in Pensacola. 

Next on the schedule for the Argos is the Colorado Premier Challenge, which they will be participating in for the 12th time in program history. For UWF, the first day of the tournament, September 8, includes matchups against Central Missouri and No. 9 Cal State-LA.  

For more information, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the program at @UWFVolleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.