Panthers Capture Another Win

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech volleyball team returned to the Clemente Center Monday night to face Dowling College after a sweeping victory at the ASU
Jaguar Classic. The crowd was anxious to see what would come of their Panthers after such a good start to the season. They were not disappointed as the
Panthers defeated the Golden Lions 3-2 in their home opener.

Leigh Ann Brown led the attack for the Panthers with a .219 hitting percentage while Amy O’Brien collected 24 digs and
Marcela Vasconcelos added 43 assists.

For the Golden Lions, Justyna Michon had 20 kills while Jessica Van Wieren totaled four solo blocks.

Tech stayed in control of game one with 12 team kills to win 30-22. The lead changed three times in set two with Dowling taking the win 27-30 to tie the
match. Passing and hitting errors kept the Panthers down by as many as 11 points in game three. Tech fought back in the end, but the Golden Lions 
took the game 30-19 to lead the match 2-1.

The Panthers bounced back in game four with 15 total kills for a .222 hitting average against Dowling’s .000. Tech re-tied the match at two games a piece
with a score of 30-19 and maintained their composure in the fifth game, winning 15-11 to extend their season record to a perfect 5-0.

“We came back with focus in the fifth game, but we need to work on consistency,” said head coach Qi Wang.

“It was a very intense game,” said Brown. “We came together and pulled it off in the end. Everyone gave one hundred percent.”

There was more than one reason for the Panthers to celebrate. Daniella Iacobelli was presented with her NCAA Championship ring. She received the ring in a
special ceremony between games two and three presided over by President Catanese. The junior earned the title by beating out a fellow Sunshine State
Conference opponent by one stroke in the four-round tournament, posting a 293 for the victory. Iacobelli is the first individual national champion from
Florida Tech.