Young Spartans Team Falls to Charleston and No.8 Georgia State in their First Match Day of 2023

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Young Spartans team falls to Charleston and No. 8 Georgia State in their first matchday of 2023.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final Scores:

Tampa 1, Charleston 4

Tampa 1, Georgia State 4

Record: Tampa 0-2

Location: Payne Sand Volleyball Courts || Jacksonville, Fla. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

vs. College of Charleston: The Spartans made their 2023 debut squaring off against College of Charleston in the Dolphin Duels at Jacksonville University. The 2s and 4s began the early morning play. Freshman Hailey Wolfe made her first collegiate appearance alongside junior Payton Brunick in the 2s pairing. The pair went down early in both of the first two sets and battled back in each but were plagued by errors and fell in two sets. Indoor star Kalli Cors made her debut on the sand alongside junior Alivia Horn in the 4s pairing. Similar to the 2s they went down early and battled hard but fell in two sets. Following the 2s and 4s matches were the 5s, 3s, and 1s. The other set of twins, freshman Nevaeh Wolfe and junior Madison Brunick played in the 3s slot for the Spartans. Just like their twin sisters they found themselves down late in both sets but battle back to put some pressure on the Cougars. Unfortunately, they were unable to close the gap in time falling just short in both sets. The final two matches both went to three sets. Julia Oswald and Angel Williams took the first set of the 1s matchup in convincing fashion. The Cougars, however, responded with a narrow victory in the second set and sent the match to a third set. Tampa gained an early lead in the third that forced a timeout from Charleston but it was too little too late and the Spartans took the third. In the final matchup to finish, Cassidy Ehrie and Anna Chechelnytska battled Charleston in the 5s. The pair lost a very tight first set but respond well in the second forcing a match-deciding third set. The third set was a battle of back-and-forth side-outs, but it was Charleston that was able to break through and claim the extended third set.

vs. No. 8 Georgia State: Following a break, the Spartans returned for an afternoon matchup against Georgia State. Similar to the first duel the 2s and 4s began play. The 2s pairing remained unchanged, however, in the 4s Ehrie played alongside freshman Madison Mandeville who also made her first collegiate appearance. The first set of the 2s remained tight, but following the technical timeout the Cougars went on two small runs that proved large enough to take the set. The Spartans capitalized on an early lead in the second set and closed the door late forcing it to a third. Georgia State, however, flipped the script on the Spartans and claimed an early lead of their own in the third set that led to a victory. The first set of the 4s was tightly contested as well, but a five-point run from the Cougars late would seal a first-set win. An injury in the second set put Tampa's 4s behind the eight ball and Georgia state took the second. Again, following the 2s and 4s were the 5s, 3s, and 1s. While the 1s and 3s remained unchanged it was Cors and Chechelnytska in the 5s this time. The switch proved to be effective as the new pairing jumped out to an early lead and never let Georgia State back in the set. Although the second set was more tightly contested the Spartans came out on top again. The first set of the 3s matchup was neck and neck until the technical timeout, after which the Cougars strung together a few short runs putting the set out of reach. Nearly the entire second set was point for point until Georgia State pulled away with three straight points to win the match. The 1s came out and won three straight points in the first set but the Cougars responded by rallying off seven of their own. The rest of the set was back and forth, but Georgia State came out on top. Oswald and Williams came out flying in the second set forcing an early timeout from Georgia State. The timeout, however, failed to stunt Tampa's momentum and they took the second convincingly. Similar to the first two sets the third was point for point action with an energetic crowd. Georgia State would capitalize on Tampa's late errors however and take the final set of the day.

UP NEXT: The Spartans return to Jacksonville University tomorrow at 10 AM and 12 PM for matchups against Tusculum and Jacksonville University.