Polk State played five sets for the first time this season, but the Eagles prevailed, defeating the St. Petersburg College Titans 3-2 last night in St. Petersburg.
Both teams entered the match undefeated, with Polk State ranked No. 1 and the Titans No. 5 in the FCSAA. With the victory, the Eagles improve to 11-0.
In the first set the Eagles cruised to a 25-13 win.
After a 2-1 advantage, they never led again in the second set, losing 21-25.
Polk State tied or trailed for most of the third set before going up 24-23 and winning 27-25.
In set four, the Eagles rallied from a 14-18 deficit to trail 22-23, but the Titans triumphed 25-23.
In the deciding fifth set, the Eagles went from 4-7 to 7-7 and then powered their way to a 15- X victory.
“We’re playing against one of the best players in the nation [Roberta Ribeiro]so we knew we would have to come here and make some plays,” said Head Coach German Del Valle.
“We had to do some different things to win tonight, and I’m proud of our players. We dealt with adversity in the third set and it was important that we came back to win it.
“We did a good job of keeping our composure. We were down in game five but we didn’t lose it. I’m really proud of them.”
The Eagles (No. 1 FCSAA, No. 2 NJCAA) hit the road again Saturday for matches against Broward College (No. 6 FCSAA) and Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth.