West Florida Claims Sweep of Montevallo in Home Finale
Lindsay Homme (Photo by Jim Hogue)Lindsay Homme named Player of the Game
PENSACOLA, Fla. – West Florida volleyball earned a 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 28-26) sweep of former conference opponent Montevallo on Tuesday evening to close out their regular season at home. Lindsay Homme (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) was the biggest offensive threat for the Argos, and was named Player of the Game for her career-high 16 kills on a .535 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Argos hit .298 with five Argos over .300 fueled by Tricia Tirabassi’s (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper HS) 42 assists. Alongside Homme, outside hitters Valissia Brathwaite (British Virgin Islands/Palm Beach CC) tallied double-digit kills with 13, while Chelsea Wilhoite (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny HS) earned her 10th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 16 digs.
Defensively, Maddie Staub (Spanish Fort, Ala./Daphne HS) and Amanda Spaay (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper HS) each collected 11 digs behind dig-leader Wilhoite. Homme provided the defense at the net with four total blocks, followed by Wilhoite who posted two.
Montevallo took the first lead 2-0 in the first set, but the Argos pulled ahead 9-6 on three consecutive Falcon attack errors. West Florida’s hitters, however, committed just three errors in the entire set, leading them to a comfortable 25-19 win. Spaay collected all 11 of her defensive digs in the first set alone.
UM again took a 2-0 lead, this time on service aces, but Homme’s serves and a Wilhoite kill led the Argos to a 7-6 lead. At 10-8, Patricia Gandolfo (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Missouri State – West Plains CC) took to the service line and helped the Argos string together a 10-point run for a 20-8 lead. West Florida refused to let up, as Wilhoite provided the final kill in the 25-11 win.
West Florida took a commanding lead in the final set, forcing a Montevallo timeout at 12-7. The Falcons refused to surrender easy, and forced a 20-20 tie and then took a 22-20 lead on a six-point run on five Argo errors. Forcing the set into extra points, Montevallo reached set point twice and the Argos once before kills from Homme and Wilhoite earned West Florida the 28-26 win for the sweep.
The Argonauts hit the road this weekend in their final regular season matches, beginning Friday at Valdosta State slated for 6pm. The Argos then close out with West Georgia on Saturday at 1pm.
