Pioneers Suffer Tough Home Loss

This Tuesday was the first home match for the Pioneers in over a week, coming off of some big road wins to help clinch their spot in the state tournament. This would be no easy opponent as they would face perennial powerhouse Miami-Dade, who defeated the Pioneers just a few weeks prior in four sets. Indian River has made some changes to their lineup since them and have been playing well so maybe this would be the day.

The first set began and Dade came out strong with some big swings and very large blocks, essentially creating a wall at the net. The Pioneers would try many methods of attack but they weren't bale to penetrate the Dade wall enough and they succumbed 19-25 in the first set. The looked to bounce back as they came out for set two, this was the set they won during the last match. Today would not be the same. This game was over before it started with Dade jumping out to a large10-4 lead, and it would only get worse from there. The Pioneers looked defeated and seemed to give up on the set, finish with a abysmal score of 6-25.

This would have been a good opportunity for the Pioneers to give up and call it a day. However, a couple lineup adjustments and the return of libero Jasmine Sayre (3 Aces, 11 Digs), and the Pioneers came out an entirely different team. They proceeded to create their own wall getting block after block, as well as taking Dade out of system with some good aggressive serving. The tide had changed and the energy was all Pioneers. They would go on to win the next two game 25-22 and 25-20.

It all came down to set five and it was quite a battle, going back and forth until at one point IRSC was able to take a 10-7 lead and things were looking good. But you can never get too comfortable around Dade, as they made a couple big plays and charged back eventually finishing the match in extra points with a 17-15 victory over the Pioneers.

Other top performers for the match included Mallory Roney (14 Kills, 18 Digs), Samantha Dibene (8 Kills, 5 Blocks), and Re'Na Ashley (9 Kills, 3 Blocks)

The Pioneers have their "Pink Out" game this Thursday Night against Daytona State. Please come out and support.