DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- Flagler College went 1-1 in the final day of the season opening tournament, the Bahama House Classic Saturday afternoon at the ICI Center. The Saints kicked off the day with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18) win over UNC Pembroke then fell to Embry-Riddle Aeuronautical University in five sets (13-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 18-20).
Flagler improved to 2-1 on the season. UNCP is now 1-3 and Embry-Riddle is 3-0.
In the first contest of the day, the Saints dominated the Braves with a three-set sweep.
Jordan Berglin led the offense with 11 kills while hitting .333.
Gracie Fleming was right behind her with 10 kills and hitting .438 in the contest.
Cassidy Bloom and
Meredith Dixon both added four kills each.
Clare Sheedy tallied 30 assists.
On the defensive side of the ball,
Amelia Fitzpatrick led the squad with 13 digs as libero
Lexi Basler wasn't too far behind with 10. Flagler had 12 block assists upfront with
Colby Stempkowski leading the effort with five. Dixon and Sheedy both added three each.
To start the contest, UNCP took the early lead and led by as many as six points. Flagler followed with a six-point run, with Fleming behind the service line, to tie the contest. The Saints then followed with a five-point run for the lead that would be kept for the rest of the set.
The second set came to fruition with a little back-and-forth scoring until Flagler started to pull away. The Saints had a 10-point lead over the Braves at one point in the set. Sheedy had herself two runs from behind the service line with a five-point run followed by a six-point run.
The Saints solidified the win in the third set. Flagler took the advantage at the 15th point with a five-point run, yet again, with Sheedy at the service line.
The final match of the Bahama House Classic went to the host team, Embry-Riddle, in a hard fought five-setter. Berglin led the team in kills in the second contest as well with 14 to give her 25 on the day.
Molly Boyd followed with 10 kills as
Cecilia Robert and Stempkowski each added seven. The assists ran through Sheedy as she posted 34.
An outstanding defensive contest from the Saints yielded 71 digs with three players in double figures. Basler led the charge with 20 as Fitzpatrick and Robert added 14 and 13, respectively. Flagler posted 16 block assists with Stempkowski leading the effort yet again with six. Boyd added two and accounted for two-of-the-three solo blocks for the Saints.
Flagler will open up home play against No. 23 (AVCA Division II Top 25) University of Central Oklahoma on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. at Flagler Gymnasium. This will be the first contest of the Flagler Saints Classic.
