Florida Tech Volleyball Prepped For First SSC Road Weekend
By Florida Tech // October 2, 2015
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – The hard work and determination invested during the offseason is paying off so far in the early stages of the season for Panther volleyball as the team has already matched its wins total in the Sunshine State Conference from last season.
Florida Tech (7-3, 2-1 SSC) now looks to improve on that mark as it heads on the road to face three straight conference opponents, beginning with this weekend’s contests against Saint Leo and Eckerd.
The Panthers went 1-1 last weekend, falling to SSC foe Nova Southeastern (2-3) on Friday before sweeping rival Lynn (3-0) on Saturday to move to 5-1 at the Clemente Center this season. FIT currently sits at fourth in the SSC.
Through 10 matches, senior Kim Juriga leads the Panthers with 84 kills on 208 attempts while classmate Alea Hamm is not far behind, recording 82 successful attacks.
Freshman Olivia Hersey is just behind the two seniors, notching 79 kills and is second on the team with a .303 hitting percentage. Juriga, Hamm and Hersey have also combined for 62 of the team’s 82 total blocks this season, with Hamm leading the SSC with 1.24 blocks per set.
In the middle, senior Ashtin Truesdale continues to jumpstart Panther runs as she has registered team-highs with 272 assists and 18 service aces to go along with 66 digs this season.
Complementing Truesdale off the bench is freshman Kiersten Rosa, who has added 83 assists, 19 digs and 13 kills.
Sophomore libero Becca Bower has been a menace to opposing offenses on the Panthers’ back line, registering a reception percentage of .954 and leading the team with 154 digs in addition to 31 assists.
Saint Leo (6-5, 1-2 SSC) dropped two road matchups last weekend against Barry and No. 17 Palm Beach Atlantic. Don’t let the Lions’ record fool you as SLU has already defeated two Top 25 teams in then-No. 21 Arkansas-Fort Smith and then-No. 24 West Texas A&M.
This season the Lions are averaging 13.31 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .222. Junior Hope Lemon and senior Anna Siruckova lead the way with 121 and 107 kills, respectively. Senior Ashlee Hodgskin has dished out 423 assists this season, good for second in the SSC.
Junior Jamee Townsend has registered 191 digs in the first 11 matches, followed by Lemon and sophomore Britt Sederholm who each have 94 digs.
Eckerd (5-6, 0-3) is hoping to turn the tides after falling in its previous five matches, most recently a five-setter at Barry on Sept. 26. The Tritons host No. 6 Florida Southern at home on Friday before welcoming FIT to the McArthur Center for a 4 p.m. ET start on Saturday.
The Panthers’ contest at Saint Leo is set for Friday at 7 p.m. Fans can access live coverage for the match on FloridaTechSports.com.
