FLORENCE, SC ?A dominate double-double afternoon for junior outside hitter
Madilyn Gartner with 21 kills and 20 digs as Francis Marion University claimed a 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 victory over the University of Mount Olive on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18) in the Smith University Center.
After coming on top, FMU advances their overall record to 13-8 and 11-1 in conference, while UMO falls to 9-13 overall and 7-7 in conference. Francis Marion will prepare for Augusta University at home on Tuesday with a start time of 7 p.m. on Faculty Appreciation Night.
In addition to Gartner, key Patriots were senior middleblocker
Caroline Lucas with 15 kills and three blocks and junior opposite-side
Camryn Faggart with nine kills. Lucas moved into 10th place on the FMU career kills list with 1,051 and 17th place on the career blocks with 272.
Senior setter
Mya Mendoza dished out a match-high 37 assists paired with three aces, while senior libero
Katie Floyd controlled the defensive effort with 15 digs.
It was a Patriot-team effort in set one before a 9-1 run by the Trojans took place. Faggart, junior outside hitter
Allison Miller, Lucas, and Gartner gave a consistent effort and threw points on the board, but ultimately FMU came up short, 23-25.
Set two remained tight, with key kills from freshman
McKayla Stockwell, Faggart, Lucas, and Gartner keeping FMU in control. Blocks from Gartner and Lucas, along with Gartner and Stockwell, slowed the Trojans' momentum before three straight kills from Gartner sealed a 25-20 win.
Francis Marion set the tone early in set three with back-to-back kills from Lucas, a kill from Gartner, and a block from Lucas and Gartner. UMO continued to battle, however the Patriots started to pull away with a 5-0 stretch with the help of Lucas and Mount Olive miscues. Stockwell, Miller, and Faggart came up clutch down the stretch, sealing the 25-20 set victory.
Miller, Faggart, Mendoza, and Lucas helped make the score 7-2 in set four before Gartner again contributed. UMO chimed in with a 6-1 run, but FMU flipped the script with a 6-1 stretch of its own powered by Lucas and Gartner. Back-to-back kills from Gartner and another from Faggart sealed the 25-19 set win and the 3-1 match victory.
FMU head coach
Lauren Baufield-Edwards moved into sole possession of second place on the career wins list of Patriot coaches with 127.
