MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Indiana Tech volleyball team opened the 2016 with a split on Friday at the St. Thomas Invitational, sweeping (RV) College of Coastal Georgia (25-19, 31-29, 25-17) before falling to last year's national runner-up and second-ranked Missouri Baptist in straight sets (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) at the Fernandez Family Center.
Jazmin Alexander led the Warriors with 16 kills, including a game-high 11 against Coastal Georgia and hitting .500 against the Mariners.
Paige Doellman added 12 blocks in six sets while had 17 digs (10 against Coastal Georgia) and 10 kills.
Taylor Kelso notched 17 digs against Coastal Georgia and finished the day with 23 digs in all.
Karli Jones had double-digit assists in both matches and served up 28 altogether.
The Orange and Black got off to a good start against the Mariners, outhitting them in every set while recording double-digit kills. Tech went on an 8-1 run in the first set to make it 15-9 and never led by less than three for the rest of the set.
The second set was a marathon one with the lead changing hands several times before match point, which there would be six of, before the Warriors took the last three points to win 31-29. Tech would then cruise to the sweep in the third and final set of the match as they never trailed after being down 10-9.
Against the Spartans, the Warriors were limited to just a .122 hitting percentage all match and didn't hit above .207 in any set. Tech would jump out to a 5-2 lead in the first set before Missouri Baptist rattled on nine straight points and never let the lead slip before four as they took the first 25-16.
The two sides would trade points through the first 12 serves before the Spartans would use a 5-0 run to go ahead 11-6 and roll to a 25-19 victory in set two. The Orange and Black would jump ahead 3-0 in the third, but a 7-2 spurt from Missouri Baptist would put the second-ranked team in the nation up 12-6.
A comeback from the Warriors would get them to within a point three different times, but the Spartans wouldn't let them tie it up as they finished off the sweep with a 25-19 win.
Tech (1-1) closes out play at the St. Thomas Invitational on Saturday as they take on the host Bobcats at 12 p.m. before facing off with Xavier University of Louisiana at 4 p.m. from the Fernandez Family Center. Links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com.
