ST. AUGUSTINE – The Machovec sisters combined 29 kills and 28 digs as Flagler College came close to knocking off perennial power University of Tampa in a 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12) loss in a non-conference volleyball match Tuesday night at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler is now 2-1 on the season. It was Tampa's season opener.

"That was a great battle with two teams taking big swings at each other, and as the score indicated both teams had a hard team getting separation," said head coach Matt Affolder. "I am really proud of our entire team for staying strong mentally through long rallies and sets, and our bench provided a ton of energy and support throughout the match. I think the main difference was Tampa's defense behind the block. Their reaction time and toughness to dig balls and extend rallies was huge, and on top of it they were putting more pressure on us with their transition swings off those digs." 

Rachel Machovec recorded a team-high 16 kills, collected nine digs, and recorded three total blocks. Rebekah Machovec tallied a season-best 13 kills and completed the double-double with a season-best 18 digs. Victoria Bowrosen finished with a career-high 13 kills. Kennedy Muff notched her second double-double of the season with 45 assists and 12 digs. She just missed a triple-double with her eight kills. Jordan Taylor chipped in with nine kills.

Tampa was led by Kalli Cors who tallied a match-high 29 kills and added 12 digs. Sorrel Houghton also had a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Mackenzie Dufresne had 12 kills and hit .647 as she had just one error on 17 swings. Dufresne also had six total blocks. Emily Noe tallied 40 assists and collected 18 digs.

The match featured 39 ties and 13 lead changes. The first set alone saw 15 ties and four lead changes while the second set had 11 ties and six lead changes.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Spartans hit .429 as they accumulated 10 kills with only one error on 21 swings.

"It will be great for our team to see this video and really dive into some of the defensive improvements we can make, as well as learn how they defended us and find ways to prepare for another unique back-to-back match at Tampa on Friday," said Affolder.

Flagler visits Tampa on Friday at 6 p.m.

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