TAMPA, Fla. – Lynn University smacked 29 kills and hit .384 over the final two sets as the Fighting Knights defeated West Florida, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA South Regional, Thursday afternoon.
The Fighting Knights, winners of nine-straight matches, improved to 25-7 on the season with the program's third win in seven matches all-time against West Florida. The Argonauts, winners of the Gulf South Conference, close their season at 25-8.
Lynn now faces No. 6 seed Nova Southeastern (20-10) in the south region semifinals tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 pm.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn won by scores of 25-20, 14-25, 25-19 and 25-16
- Lynn hit .281 with 55 kills, while West Florida hit .190 with 51 kills
- Lynn used a 4-0 run and a 5-2 scoring spurt for a 17-13 lead in set one as junior
Maria Cecilia Pinho accounted for four kills during the runs
- Graduate
Dayana Chara closed the set with back-to-back kills for a 25-20 lead
- West Florida hit .400 with a match-high 16 kills in the second set for the win
- Lynn never led in the set and the Argonauts took control with a 6-1 run in the middle of the game for the 25-14 win
- The Fighting Knights trailed by two, 12-10, in the third before a 10-1 run took control
- Junior
Aline Olegario started the run with a kill, while Chara smacked two kills as Lynn led 20-13
- Graduate
Samantha Wolf had two late kills and Olegario put the exclamation point on the set with a kill and a 25-19 win
- UWF used a 4-0 run in the fourth set for an 8-7 lead before Lynn grabbed the lead behind a 7-0 run that was capped by two blocks from both Cecilia Pinho and graduate
Kenidy Howard
- A 6-0 run increased Lynn's lead to 23-16, while Chara and Howard had a block that sealed a 25-16 win
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Chara hit .367 with 14 kills
- Wolf contributed 13 kills and 15 digs
- Cecilia Pinho hit .389 with nine kills
- Howard finished with eight kills and six blocks
- Graduate
Emily Edwards handed out 46 assists
- Junior
Isabella Gentile added 12 digs
POSTMATCH QUOTES:
Adam Milewski (Head Coach) – His takeaways from the match with West Florida
"It was a hard-fought match in a tough region and we knew West Florida was good coming in and we just haven't had a chance to play them this year. We didn't get to see them live during the Crossover or be on their court and see how physical they are and how really well coached they are. It was a big-time challenge for us as you could see in game two and I was really proud of how the team responded in games three and four."
Milewski … additional thoughts on West Florida
"I'm good with what we did on the court, but I think we have to be more consistent. West Florida played fantastic and I would have liked to see us fight a little bit more, especially in these single elimination matches. It was a lot of work for us to get back into the match because they played so well for the rest of the games."
Dayana Chara (Outside Hitter) – On rebounding from the flat second set
"I think knowing if we lose we were going to be out (of the regional). Nobody is ready to lose right now and we aren't ready to go home. We want to go to the finals."
Samantha Wolf (Outside Hitter) – Her highlight of the win over West Florida
"When (
Maria Cecilia Pinho) went on that blocking run in the third set because it really fired us up and it was super exciting."
