Pioneers Hit Bump in the Road at Polk State Invitational

 The IRSC women's volleyball team dropped several tough matches against top competition at the Polk State Invitational this weekend in Lakeland, FL.

The Pioneers lost a nail biter to the College of Central Florida in the decisive 5th set (29-31, 25-19, 25-20, 16-25, 14-16). They also dropped matches to Daytona State College (3-1), Polk State College (3-0), and Hillsborough Community College.

 Despite their record at the tournament, the Pioneers continued their impressive play on the defensive side of the ball, accumulating 297 digs on the weekend, including 98 against The College Of Central Florida and 92 against Hillsborough Community College in only 3 sets. As of Saturday night, the Pioneers were ranked 3rd in the nation in digs.

Leading IRSC defensively over the weekend was Sophomore Libero Rebecca Sills with 82 digs, including 31 against Hillsborough. Sophomore Outside Jenna Erwin tallied 52 digs, including 25 against Hillsborough. Freshman Setter Jada Bivins racked up 47 of her own while distributing 95 assists over the 4 match span.

Offensively, the Pioneers were led by Erwin with 37 kills. Sophomore Opposite hitter Lindsay Glynn added 32, and Freshman Outside Hitter Ayannah Henry chipped in 30 kills over the weekend.

The Pioneers return to action September 7th against Catawba Valley Community College at the Pasco Hernando tournament.