The Liberty University Women’s Volleyball team fell to Florida International University (FIU) in a series over the weekend, losing their matches 3-1 both days Oct. 24-25.
Following an early lead and an offensive battle, the Lady Flames dropped the first match on Friday night in Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames’ efforts stalled as they were without a few players due to illness and other factors, causing a lull in their gameplay.
“We’re going to get healthy this week … and really get some chances to kind of throw some things into the offensive and defensive structures … and elevate our offense overall and just really our ability to defend it as well,” Head Coach Jeremy White said.
Despite the loss, junior outside hitter Jenna Otts was a force at the net, finding a season-high as she led the Lady Flames with her first 20-kill game in Liberty Arena.
Another weapon for the Lady Flames was sophomore outside hitter Carly O’Brien, adding 13 kills and 16 digs to earn a double-double on the scoresheet.
The Lady Flames attempted to build momentum, but FIU had power over the net, finishing with 13 blocks to Liberty’s 9. Sophomore outside hitter Paige Overcash assisted the Lady Flames in an effort to kill the Lady Panthers’ momentum with her 13 kills.
Despite the Lady Flames initially leading the first set 17-13, their reign came to an end with an 8-0 run, sparked by FIU setter Savannah Cook’s 7-point service stretch. This swung the momentum as the Lady Panthers went on to capture the opening frame 25-23, followed with a 25-20 win in the second set.
After dropping the first two sets, the Lady Flames saw their offense begin to spark in the third. Thanks to a heavy front-line presence and clean execution, they closed out the match with a 25-20 victory. However, FIU topped off the night with a steady fourth set, fending off the late Liberty rally to secure the win 25-22.
On Saturday, the Lady Flames showed resilience; however, they fell short in another 3-1 defeat.
The Lady Panthers came out fighting, holding off Liberty in a tightly contested first set, 25-20. FIU carried that momentum into the second set, using a late 3-0 run to pull away and take a 2-0 match lead.
The Lady Flames once again reignited their offense in the third set, building a lead behind aggressive play at the net and timely hitting from Otts.
“I think our coaches instilled that it’s now or never, and everyone on the team stepped up in that set,” Otts said about the third set.
The Lady Flames began to build momentum, keeping up with FIU throughout the entire set. For a tied score 23-23, Bierwagen’s serve that was originally called out reversed to an ace upon review. Liberty then went on a 4-0 run, winning the set 25-20 and cutting the overall match deficit to 2-1.
“Going into the fourth set after coming off of that, they’re going to amp up their energy, and we’ve got to really respond to it as well. … It’s really about matching that intensity,” White said.
In the fourth set, Liberty kept the pressure on early, but the Lady Panthers’ block and back-row defense helped them take back the reins and finish the match with a 25-19 victory.
“They were running their front row well. Their middles were able to score, and they were moving the ball a lot,” Otts said.
Otts extended her offensive leadership for the Lady Flames with 15 kills in Saturday’s matchup.
“All week, I think Jenna (Otts) has really been able to carry our offense. It’s going to be more about how to get her better looks going forward,” White said.
Bierwagen was another standout for Liberty’s offense, garnering 25 assists to go with three aces, two kills and two blocks. O’Brien contributed 13 kills and 14 digs to earn her 11th double-double of the season.
Defensively, sophomore middle blocker Layla Collins led the team at the net with 7 blocks, a career high for her.
“I thought some people really stepped up, and our service sequence was much better, and we were better, maybe not statistically, in managing the net with our middles than we did yesterday,” White said.
After their contests against FIU, the Lady Flames move to 16-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
“We just had a run where we played three of the top four teams in the conference in the last four weekends, so things will get a little bit easier,” White said.
Looking ahead, Liberty will regroup for its next stretch of conference play, as they play a pair of away games against conference newcomers University of Delaware Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
White is the Sports editor.
Shepard is a sports reporter.