BOCA RATON - Senior Mallory Deneen recorded her second straight double-double to lead the Lynn University volleyball team to a straight set, 25-15, 25-18, 29-27 victory over Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Tech Tuesday night at the de Hoernle Center. LU improves to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the SSC, while the Panthers fall to 7-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
Deneen recorded a game-high 13 kills on a .314 hitting percentage and added 12 digs to pace the Fighting Knights. The Santa Fe, N.M., native received plenty of help from Sophie Gagnon who record 10 kills on .381 hitting, as well as Haley Pratt (eight kills, .500 hitting) and Chelsey Semprini (eight kills, .286 hitting). Devon Woolard also had a solidmatch quarterbacking the offense recording seven kills on .467 hitting to go with 39 assists and eight digs.
Defensively, Lynn was paced by Lacy Redwine who recorded her third 30-dig game of the season, and sophomore Darian Weppner who collected 10 on the night. The Knights also held FIT to just .137 hitting on the night.
LU came out swinging from the gate, jumping out to a 5-3 lead early in the first set. That was as close as the first set would get as the Knights scored five unanswered points to force a timeout by Florida Tech. The teams would trade points until a kill by Katie Bradley prompted another Panther timeout. After the break, Lynn would virtually score two for every point by FIT as Lynn cruised to a 25-15 victory.
The second set was back and forth until Lynn broke out in front a third of way through the frame. After a Panther kill cut the Knights lead to 12-11, Lynn went on a 10-0 run behind five kills by Deneen and two by Woolard to put the set out of reach.
Lynn got out in front early in the third set as well, but allowed the Panthers to sneak back in and actually take a 24-23 lead. A kill by Kala Abdell forced the frame into extras. After a service error gave FIT another set point, Semprini delivered with a kill of her own only to be followed by a kill by the Panthers. Two Panther attacking errors gave Lynn its first match point, but they were unable to capitalize. Finally, Lynn got kills from Deneen and Woolard to clinch the match.
The Fighting Knights are back in action Saturday, October 9 when they host Saint Leo at 4:00 pm in a pivotal SSC match. Fans can follow all of the action live by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting "Game Central."
