WINTER PARK, Fla. – Shannon McDonough and Bri Civiero combined for 48 kills and digs to help Rollins College hold off Flagler College 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21) in a non-conference volleyball match at the Harold and Ted Alfond Sports Center.
Rollins won its sixth consecutive match to improve to 6-2 overall. Flagler dropped to 4-3.
McDonough finished with a match-high 28 kills and completed the double-double with 24 digs. Civiero added 20 kills, 24 digs and five total blocks. Cassidy Cason tallied 52 assists and Sam Schlesman recorded seven total blocks. Rebecca Wilson tacked on 16 digs.
Sara Davis led the Saints with 17 kills and recorded six block assists. She hit .378 in the match with only three errors on 37 swings. Genel Stugeon recorded her first double-double since Sept. 26, 2014 (vs. Montevallo) with a 13-kill, 10-dig performance.
Megan Hooks added eight kills while
Rachel Bryant tied her career-high in kills with seven and she added seven digs. Bryant also tied her career-high with four block assists.
Tara Savisky recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 43 assists and 17 digs.
Kayla Norelli collected a season-high 21 digs.
After losing the first two sets, Flagler took a 12-6 lead in the third set only to see Rollins battle back and tie the score on five different occasions late. A kill by McDonough knotted the set at 23 and then the Tars had set point, up 24-23, after a Davis attack error. However, McDonough had an attack error on the next rally to tie the score at 24. The Saints took a 25-24 lead on a Davis kill but another kill by McDonough fended off set point. Davis, however, finished the set with back-to-back kills to push the match to a fourth set.
Flagler broke open a 12-all tie by scoring four straight points as Sturgeon recorded a kill on McDonough's blocking error. After Rollins' timeout, the Tars rallied back to tie the score at 17. With the score tied at 21, the Tars scored the last four points to win the match.
Up next for Flagler is No. 17 (AVCA Division II Top 25) Palm Beach Atlantic University on Saturday (Sept. 17) at 7 p.m. The Sailfish were the national runners-up last year.
