Saints Drop Season Opener
August 22, 2024

Saints Drop Season Opener

The Saints fall in straight sets 25-19, 25-19, and 25-18.

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Gainesville, FL

The Saints opened their season against the Missouri State University – West Plains Grizzlies from the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference. This is Head Coach Bailey Coleman's third season leading the Saints.

Jessica Mckee, Mariana Haas, Riley Solomon, Kailyn Howard, Maria Contreras, and Linnea Preston got the starting nods, with Aria Eisel as the libero.

The highlight of the Saints' night was their blocking: they finished with nine blocks in three sets (five in the first and four in the second).

The Saints fell behind early in the first set, but tied the score at 5-5. They would take their first lead at 8-7, but the Grizzlies went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-9 lead and force a Saints timeout. The Saints won the first point following the timeout with a kill by Jessica Mckee, but the Grizzlies held on to win the first set 25-19.

The second set started with the Saints leading 3-1, and both teams exchanged points until the score was tied at 10-10. After that, the Grizzlies went up 15-11 and won 25-19 again.

The Saints again took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but the Grizzles quickly stormed back to take a 10-5 lead. The Saints then went on a 4-0 run highlighted by kills from Kailyn Howard, Linnea Preston, and Mariana Haas, as well as a service ace by Kailyn Howard to cut the Grizzlies' lead to 10-9. The Saints then took a 12-11 lead, but the Grizzlies took over for a 25-18 set win.

Head Coach Bailey Coleman on the match: "The fight was there. We need to take care of the ball more and control the things we can control. I am optimistic in the direction we are headed."

The Saints will aim to bounce back tomorrow when they play Lurleen B. Wallace Community College at 11:00 AM and Pasco-Hernando State College at 3:00 PM EDT.