Falcons Fall in Regional and National Poll after Back-to-Back Losses
DAYTONA BEACH – After a tough week of play, the Falcons fall from 10th to 18th in the NJCAA National Poll and to 4th in the Region 8 coaches poll.
The Falcon added 2 losses to their record this week. The first to conference opponent, Santa Fe, in 3 sets and the 2nd to Eastern Florida State College in a 5 set battle. During the Santa Fe match the Falcons struggled to find their rhythm. Sophomore Derionah Abner, a key offensive threat for the team, was out with an injury forcing the team to reconfigure their lineup. The Falcons who stepped into new roles for the match did so extremely well, but the team lacked cohesiveness in their play.
“I was proud of the individuals who stepped into what may have been less familiar roles during the match. Unfortunately, it felt as if the true Falcon team never arrived at the gym that day. For whatever reason we were hesitant in our play, had an unreasonable number of unforced errors, and lacked the confidence to get the job done. Santa Fe came ready to battle and we certainly fell short in that arena. I know that the girls were disappointed in their effort. Each match, whether we win or lose, provides an opportunity for growth and I know our team will forge ahead and learn from the experience” stated interim Head Coach Laura Booker Anderson.
The Falcons came into the match against Eastern Florida ready to redeem themselves. The team had a slow start losing the first two sets to the Titans but battled back to win the next two sets. Despite the fight of the Falcons, the team fell short in the 5th set. “I was really proud of the team’s fight and relentless effort during the Eastern Florida matchup. It would have been very easy to give up on that 3rd set after dropping the first 2, but they never settled. I saw the spark that was missed during our previous matchup. We still have quite a bit of room for improvement, but we are back moving in the right direction” said Coach Booker Anderson.
Although the Falcons ultimately came up short during the matchup against Eastern, Freshmen Sarah Stratton and Kaitlyn Thompson, both who played the middle blocker position, had standout performances. Stratton, who has led the team and the nation in blocks, had a total of 9 for the match. Offensively Stratton was undoubtedly a key contributor for the Falcons as she had 10 kills on 21 attempts and only 3 errors. Kaitlyn Thompson, freshman from Estero, Florida, had her best performance of the season recording 6 kills on 12 attempts with no errors.
The Falcons are excited to be on their home court this week as they face State College of Florida at 6pm on Wednesday and start their second round of conference play against Pensacola State College at home on Saturday at 1pm.