Tech, who was playing in its first GSC Tournament semifinal match since 2002, struggled offensively against the East Division No. 2 seeded Lady Lions as Tech was held to a .175 hitting percentage and committed 26 attack errors and were outblocked, 13-4 in the loss.
With the loss, Tech, who falls to 31-5 overall on the season, more likely has played its last volleyball match of the season as the Golden Suns were ranked ninth in the most recent NCAA D-II South Regional rankings that were released last Wednesday. Only eight teams from each of the eight regions advance to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Sunday evening on www.NCAA.com by the D-II Volleyball Committee. In the South Region, the tournament champions from the GSC (West Florida) and SIAC (Kentucky State), along with Tampa, who won the regular season Sunshine State Conference title, receive automatic berths into the NCAA D-II Tournament, while the other five teams will be selected from the highest remaining ranked region teams.
In Saturday’s match, both teams battled as there were 12 ties and five lead changes, with a majority of the lead changes (three) coming in the first set.
UNA (21-8) won the first set thanks to outhitting Tech, .227 to .136. In the first set, Tech recorded seven attack errors and had 13 kills. In the second set, Tech rebounded as it recorded 14 kills and five errors and hit .209, while holding UNA to a .116 hitting percentage. In the second set, UNA pulled within 23-22 following a block by Ari Smith, before Tech won the set thanks to back-to-back kills by freshman middle blocker Sara Motsinger (Normal, Ill.) and senior middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.).
The third set was another hard fought one as Tech trailed 23-17, before using a 5-1 run capped by a Von Lienen kill to pull within 24-22. UNA, though, would prevail on a kill from Sarah Roberts to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Meanwhile, in the fourth set, Von Lienen, who was named this year’s GSC West Division Player of the Year, opened with a powerful kill, but the Lady Lions responded with an 8-0 run that Tech couldn’t recover from.
Von Lienen, who was named to the GSC All-Tournament Team after recording 33 kills and hitting .373 for the Golden Suns in the tournament, led the way for the Golden Suns as she recorded 20 kills, two blocks and finished with a .421 hitting percentage. In addition to Von Lienen, junior outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.) finished with her team-leading 14th double-double as she had 10 kills and 12 digs, while senior setter Kera Dukic (White Lake, Mich.) closed out her career with 42 assists and eight digs in the loss. With her 10 kills, Farney is now nine kills shy of becoming the 14th Golden Sun to join the 1,000 Kill Club.
Tech’s defense was led by the play of junior libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.), who recorded 16 digs to move within 12 digs of becoming the school’s all-time leader. Along with Benda, junior middle blocker Thabata Galvao (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and junior outside hitter Marcela Mascarenhas (Sao Paulo, Brazil) each had 12 digs as Tech finished the match with 62.
UNA was paced by the play of Robert, who recorded 12 kills and five blocks, while Hristina Markova added 11 kills, two blocks and hit .333. Cara Gregg and Smith each each 10 kills apiece, while Natalie Marsh had a match-high 17 digs in the win.
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