BOCA RATON - In the opening day of the Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach, the Flagler College volleyball team dropped their two matches to University of Missouri-St. Louis 3-1 (22-25, 22-25, 26-24, 20-25) and No. 1 Lynn University 3-1 (20-25, 24-26, 25-19, 15-25).
These losses move the Saints to a 3-7 record. Lynn remains undefeated, moving to 9-0 while Missouri-St. Louis moves to 6-3. On day two the Saints will face Lee University and Palm Beach Atlantic University.
The first match against the Tritons saw a back-and-forth duel with
Marley Middlebrooks at the center of it. In a career high performance, Middlebrooks led both teams in kills with 20. Middlebrooks continued her dominant performance by co-leading the Saints in aces with two and digs with 10.
Clare Sheedy tied Middlebrooks in aces while also leading the team in assists with 41. Missouri-St. Louis's Caitlin Bishop finished with a match high 49 assists. In digs,
Cassidy Bloom helped lead the Saints. The Tritons finished with a match high 13 digs courtesy of Skylar Weaver. As a team, the Saints outpaced the Tritons in blocks.
Katherine Rank led the defensive front, finding a piece in three of the Saints six blocks.
Against No. 1 ranked Lynn, the Saints pushed a four set match. Flagler is one of only two teams to win a set against the Fighting Knights this season. Middlebrooks led the offense again with 14 kills, putting her at second in the match. Nadia Rossi had a match high 18 kills while also tying Bloom in digs with eight. Clara Maidantchik led both teams with 12 digs. Ula Gorjup outpaced Sheedy in assists with 45 compared to the Saint's 33. Rank tied with Gorjup, Lillia Neill and Aline Olegario with a match high three blocks. The Fighting Knights had a staggering 10 total blocks, overshadowing the Saints five.
