Patriots lose to Flagler
Photo by: Rian Sanders
Shelbi Meek spikes the ball during the game against Flagler College. The Nov. 11 game is Meek’s last game as a Patriot.
The Patriots women’s volleyball team concluded their regular season on Saturday Nov. 11 with a hard-fought contest against the Flagler College Saints who won the game 3-0.
The Patriots end the season with a 9-17 overall record and 3-9 record in conference play. The Patriots advance to the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament, which will take place Friday, Nov. 17 in Milledgeville, GA.
The Patriots and Saints had a close game, with all three sets posting fairly even scoring despite the Saints winning them all. The scores of the three sets were 25-18, 25-22 and 25-22. The Flagler Saints boosted their record to a 21-3 overall record and 10-1 record in PBC competition.
Sara Davis and Taja Valmyr, Flagler College players, registered 11 kills a piece, which set the pace for the Saints throughout the match. Senior Shelbi Meek and junior Georgia Garrison led FMU with eight kills a piece, while freshman Kayla Arthur also registered six kills of her own.
Patriot freshman libero Natalie Ferrell had a solid game for the Patriot defense with 16 digs. Meek and Garrison added more to the stat sheet on the day with 13 and 12 digs as well as four and three aces respectively.
The Flagler College Saints had a successful day with a powerful performance in the first set. However, in both of the final two sets, the Patriots held leads before the Saints rallied, taking both the sets.
The contest also marked senior day for Meek and Erika Hartings. Prior to the first serve, a ceremony was conducted that recognized the pair for their services to volleyball at FMU. Defensive specialist or outside hitter Meek is a senior biology major from Springtown, TX. She joined the Patriots for the 2015 season in her sophomore year following a year at Malone University. Outside hitter Hartings is a senior marketing major from Coldwater, OH. She joined the Patriots for the 2016 and 2017 seasons after two years at Owens Community College.
The Patriots must win each upcoming game in the PBC tournament to continue their season.