The Oilers Pick-Up First Win of Season | Beat the Mocs 3-0
Fairbanks, Alas.- The University of Findlay volleyball team continued their trip to Alaska today as they faced Florida Southern on Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Denali State Bank Ice Blocker Classic. The Oilers picked up their first win of the season over the Mocs by a score of 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 26-24) and move to 1-5 on the year. With the loss, Florida Southern falls to 4-2.
In the first set, the teams went back-and forth leaving the score tied nineteen different times, most notably at 26. But it was the Oilers who went on a 3-0 stretch with a kill from Journey Blevins, a block by Emma Meyer, followed by an error by the Mocs. Findlay hit .326 on the set compared to Florida Southern's .132.
In the second set, the Oilers dominated early. They never trailed, taking four of the first five points. It was a 7-1 run that gave Findlay a 19-9 lead late in the set. The Oilers and Mocs then went back-and-forth before a kill by Journey Blevins ended the set. The Oilers hit .316 to the Moc's .091 to take the second set with ease.
The third set was initially all in favor of the Mocs as they took a quick lead out-scoring the Oilers 9-3 as the set started. The Oilers then scored five of the next seven points to bring the Mocs lead back to one. From there, the set was back-and-forth. With the score tied at 23, the Oilers were able to end the match with a kill from Norah Painter followed by two consecutive kills from Journey Blevins. The Oilers hit just .156 on the set but it was enough to give them their first win of the season.
As a team, Findlay hit .262, picking up 51 kills and making 18 errors. On the other side, Florida Southern hit .113 in the match and only recorded 28 kills.
Senior Norah Painter led Findlay with 17 kills to hit an impressive .533. Sophomore Journey Blevins recorded 13 kills but had 40 attempts for a hitting percentage of just .15. Freshman Alana Pohlman played well, picking up 11 kills on 19 attempts to hit .421. Senior Emma Meyer chipped in eight kills.
Freshman Emma White had a team-high 46 assists and a team-high of 15 digs. Sophomore Ava Doster contributed fourteen digs and two aces. Emma Meyer, Natalie Maras, and Alana Pohlman all recorded four blocks.
The Oilers will conclude the Denali State Bank Ice Blocker Classic tonight against Alaska Fairbanks. The game is set to start at 11:30pm EST.