Lynn University

MELBOURNE, Fla. - No. 12 Lynn University volleyball returned to the win column in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon, sweeping Florida Tech 25-23, 25-15 and 25-10 for its first Sunshine State Conference victory of the season.
 
The Fighting Knights (9-2, 1-1 SSC) overcame a tightly contested opening set before taking control behind a relentless serving attack and an increasingly efficient offense. Lynn finished with 15 service aces, hit .311 for the match and limited Florida Tech (3-7, 1-1 SSC) to just 18 kills and a .056 hitting percentage.
 
Lira Pukl Verdel paced the Fighting Knights with a match-high 13 kills on .333 hitting and four aces. Lillia Neill continued her efficient play at the net, putting away 10 kills with just one error on 13 swings for a .692 hitting percentage. Reigning SSC Setter of the Week Ula Gorjup directed the offense with 36 assists and added a match-high five service aces, seven digs and two kills.
 
Lynn's defense also made its presence felt. Audrey Shaw recorded six blocks, Alexia Radulovic added five and libero Haidyn Spano led all players with 11 digs. After surrendering 23 points in the opening set, the Fighting Knights allowed just 25 combined over the final two frames.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One: Lynn 25, Florida Tech 23
- Florida Tech opened with a 5-2 lead, but Lynn quickly erased the deficit
- A block by Pukl Verdel and Neill, followed by an Ella Voorhees service ace, brought the Fighting Knights even at 5-5
- The teams traded points through the early stages before consecutive Panther errors gave Lynn its first lead at 12-11
- Shaw followed with a kill to put the Fighting Knights ahead 13-12
- Florida Tech moved in front 20-19 on a service ace, but Rendic answered with a kill to tie the score
- Radulovic put Lynn ahead 21-20, and the teams continued to exchange points until the Panthers tied the set at 23-23
- Neill delivered a kill to give Lynn set point, and Pukl Verdel followed with another to secure the 25-23 opening-set victory
- Lynn totaled 15 kills in the frame, with Rendic and Neill supplying four apiece
 
Set Two: Lynn 25, Florida Tech 15
- The Fighting Knights began to establish control in the second set, turning a 5-5 tie into an 8-5 advantage behind a Neill kill, a Rendic ace and a Pukl Verdel kill
- With Lynn leading 9-6, Jones sparked a three-point stretch that included a service ace and a Gorjup kill, extending the margin to 12-6
- Gorjup added back-to-back aces to push the lead to 15-7
- Moments later, Pukl Verdel served consecutive aces as Lynn surged ahead 18-9
- Neill delivered two kills late in the set to make it 22-12 after Florida Tech briefly narrowed the gap, Shaw put the Fighting Knights at set point with a kill
- A Panther attacking error closed out the 25-15 win and gave Lynn a two-set advantage
- Lynn hit .300 in the frame and held Florida Tech to five kills on .100 hitting
 
Set Three: Lynn 25, Florida Tech 10
- Gorjup took the service line to open the third set and fueled an 8-0 run that immediately put the Fighting Knights in command
- She recorded three aces during the stretch, while Pukl Verdel contributed three kills
- Lynn continued to build its lead after Florida Tech scored its first point
-  A Pukl Verdel ace, a Shaw kill and consecutive Panther errors pushed the advantage to 13-1
- A block by Shaw and Radulovic made it 14-2 before Radulovic added a kill
- Voorhees then delivered back-to-back aces to stretch the lead to 17-3
- The Fighting Knights maintained their double-digit cushion down the stretch
- Chloe Riley recorded a kill to bring up match point at 24-9, and Neill capped the afternoon with her 10th kill
- Lynn hit a match-best .480 in the final set, recording 13 kills against just one attacking error
- The Fighting Knights held Florida Tech to three kills and a -.125 hitting percentage in the frame
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Pukl Verdel led all players with 13 kills, hit .333 and added four aces to finish with 17.5 points
- Neill recorded 10 kills on 13 attempts with one error, hitting .692, she also contributed a block assist
- Gorjup totaled 36 assists, five aces, seven digs and two kills on .400 hitting
- Shaw finished with six block assists and three kills without an attacking error, hitting .429
- Radulovic added six kills and five block assists, while Rendic contributed seven kills, two block assists and an ace
- Spano led the match with 11 digs, Voorhees added seven digs and four aces, while Jones chipped in another ace
- Lynn held advantages of 42-18 in kills, 41-18 in assists, 37-24 in digs and 15-2 in service aces
 
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights return home to open up the conference slate in the de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center next weekend. The home stand kicks off on Friday, Sept. 25 as Lynn hosts Eckerd at 7:00 pm.