The Pioneers battled against #3 Miami-Dade

The IRSC volleyball team hit the road once again to play in their first conference match of the season against #3 Miami Dade. The Pioneers fought hard, but the Sharks came out on top (24-26, 19-25, 20-25). 

Indian River came out ready to play, challenging the Sharks with several lead changes in the beginning of the first set. Both teams battled point for point until the Sharks make a few mistakes and with a big block from Sophomore outside, Olivia Melton and Freshman middle blocker, Rylee Waldie put Indian River up, 12-10. The Pioneers continued to apply pressure, forcing Miami-Dade to call the first time out of the set at 14-11. The Sharks were not done as they pushed a three-point run but fortunately, the River responded well by bouncing back to a four-point run, keeping the lead 19-14. Miami-Dade slowly started to chip away as IRSC struggled to side out, making it a tight game, 20-19. Right to the end, the Pioneers and the Sharks went head-to-head until MDC carried the momentum, taking set one 24-26.  

Indian River started off a bit slow in set two as Miami-Dade's aggressive serving had put the Pioneers in a tough place, 6-12. Finally finding a groove, the River slowly pushed the gap; a big solo block from Sophomore middle blocker, Zuzanna Rut, led the team to a two-point game, 16-18. Head-to-head, both teams continued to fight but Indian River could not prevail from their slow start, Miami-Dade took set two 19-25.  

Down 0-2 on the match, the Pioneers continued to challenge the Sharks in set three. However, despite another slow start, Indian River gained momentum and the energy started to rise as they pushed a seven-point run, taking the lead 11-7. Things were looking bright for the Pioneers, but eventually the Sharks started to charge back as they continued to apply pressure from the service line. In the end, the Pioneers continued to show their grit and did not back down as they fell to the Sharks 20-25 in the third set. 

Top performers for the match were Freshman opposite, Wiktoria Telecka (12 kills hitting 0.423), Sophomore setter, Valeria Ivanova (27 assist, 8 digs, 2 aces) and Freshman middle blocker, Rylee Waldie leading the team with 4 block assists.  

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