Women's volleyball team beats Polk, places third in state tournament

The Eastern Florida State College women's volleyball team placed third in the FCSAA/NJCAA Division I Southeast District Tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Titans defeated Polk State College in four sets to take third place which is the highest finish in recent history.

Eastern Florida State College held the lead early as an Emma Kiser ace and kills by Paulina Dobreva, Sofia Kamke and Flavia Romanelli gave the Titans a bit of cushion. But Polk State would tie the match 14-14 and the teams would trade points throughout the set until the Titans put the set away 28-26.

Aces by Emma Kiser and Kamke gave the Titans a 7-2 lead in the second set but Polk State once again trimmed away at the lead and tied it up 17-17. Polk State took a 21-17 lead but a key ace by Juliana De Acharan would get the Titans going but Polk would hang on for the 25-22 win.

The third set was also tight throughout as the two teams traded runs but with the Titans serving for the match De Acharan stepped up and served the ace for the set win to give EFSC a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set saw the Titans pull away and end the match, 25-19.

Kamke led the attack with 18 kills and 12 digs while Emma Kiser finished with 14 kills and 14 digs. Paulina Dobreva had nine kills while Flavia Romanelli had seven. Gaia Riedmuller led the Titans with 24 digs.

Kamke and Riedmuller both made the All-Tournament Team.

Florida Southwestern won the FCSAA and Southeast District title with a straight-sets win over Miami Dade in the championship match.

Miami Dade jumped out to a fast start, gaining a 4-0 advantage before the Bucs scored but once they did, Florida Southwestern was tough to stop as they turned the 4-0 deficit into a 9-9 tie and Barbara Koehler got on a roll serving, leading the Bucs to a 15-9 lead. They cruised to a 25-18 win in the first set and won the next two 25-19 and 25-17.

Maria Cecilia finished with 15 kills while Alondra Alarcon had nine.

Julia Lawrenz was the Tournament Most Valuable Player helping the Bucs win the title and advance to the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament.

In the first match of the day, Hillsborough Community College defeated Daytona State College in four sets, 25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 25-22 victory.