UWF Volleyball: Argos march to South Region Final with win over "very good" Embry-Riddle

Friday was a night of responses for the University of West Florida volleyball team.

Facing a prepared program in its first NCAA Division II Tournament, the Argos took every punch and haymaker their opponent slugged their way.

When West Florida head coach Melissa Wolter walked into her post-game press conference, her first response was more of an exhale.

“Can I have two minutes to have my blood pressure come down a little bit,” Wolter joked.

UWF advanced to a NCAA Region Final for the fifth time in program history thanks to a four-set victory over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in a South Region semifinal match for the UWF Field House.

The set scores were 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17.

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The Argos are the top seed in the region and improved its record to 35-1 this season. The Eagles were the No. 4 seed and saw their year come to an end at 26-7.

“Wow, that’s just good volleyball,” Wolter said. “Embry-Riddle, we haven’t seen them all year, so we really weren't sure what to expect. That is a very, very good volleyball team that challenged us in a lot of ways from a physical standpoint. … They came here to win it, which was very impressive. Definitely props to them, but I’m just very excited that our team is going to get a chance to play tomorrow.”

Now, a shot at history awaits.

Victorious in its last 30 matches, West Florida faces Tampa University, the No. 2 seed in the South, at 6 p.m. Saturday from the UWF Field House. The Spartans claimed a semifinal win over No. 3 Nova Southeastern four-set.

Last appearing in 2017, the Argos are winless in their previous four regional finals. Half of the team’s defeats came at the hands of Tampa (2010, 2013).

“Honestly, as far as our team is concerned and as far as I’m concerned, it’s about tomorrow. It’s not about the past," Wolter said. "We’ve been a team that’s played in the present all season long. No doubt Tampa is a great program. I have nothing but respect for Coach (Chris) Catanach. I think both of us and our staff will go to work tonight and go to work tomorrow. And then ultimately, it’s going to be who executes on the court tomorrow.”

On Friday night, it was Embry-Riddle that was the team executing early.

Wolter was forced to call a timeout early in the opening set as the home team trailed 8-3. Following a hitting error from outside hitter Madi Cooler, the Argos trailed 19-13 before roaring back with a 7-1 run.

Unstoppable for the right-side, Tyler Fezzey went on a hitting barrage, blasting four straight points to tie the match at 20-all. UWF enjoyed its first advantage of the night at 23-22 after a successful attack from outside hitter Alex Oliver. Later, Taylor Vaneekeren closed out the set with a kill that ricochet off an Eagles blocker out of bounds.

“That first set was just clutch,” Wolter said. “The way that they just held themselves, the way they just grinded. That’s really good volleyball.”

West Florida never trailed in the second set, but life wasn’t that much easier.

A kill from Amia Owolabi and a combo block from Jenna Bishop and Jaden McBride pulled the visitors even at 23-23. However, like the previous set, the Argos closed the second set with kills from Cooler and Fezzey.

Each player finished the night with 17 kills.

“I think when the stakes are a little bit higher, that’s when you get a little bit more excited,” Fezzey said. “And I think it made it that much more fun that (the Eagles) brought their A-game. With the serving and the passing, we were in some really good positions for me to have options at the net. We did a really good job from that angle and it made it a little bit easier to score up there in some clutch moments.”

West Florida appeared on its way to a sweep after jumping out to a 13-8 lead in the third. Embry-Riddle promptly tied it a 13-all with a 5-0 surge, capped by an assisted block from Jaden McBride and Sam Lanning.

The Eagles stayed alive thanks to swatting shots at the net and spectacular work on the back line. The road team had five total blocks and 16 digs, forcing UWF to a .048 hitting percentage.

Embry-Riddle took the third when an Owolabi attack sealed a 6-1 run.

As the fourth began, West Florida, specifically Cooler, adjusted to the Eagles defense, as she spiked down a pair of kills to open the set.

The redshirt junior struggled in the opening frame, committing four attacking errors in the first. But she saved her best for last, converting eight kills in the final set.

“I think we knew from the jump that they were going to be a good blocking team and I think they knew the same about us,” Cooler said. “I think we came in with the mindset that we know that we have to play high. As we got going a little bit further on in the set, you got to swing high if you want to score against these guys or if you want to get them out of system.”

West Florida had its best attacking percent in the fourth (.345) while forcing Embry-Riddle to their worst hitting percentage of the night (.036).

Leading 18-14, UWF effectively ended the match with a 5-0 spurt, highlighted by a block from Gulf South Conference Player of the Year Veresia Yon. The middle blocker finished with 4.5 blocks to go with nine kills.

Vaneekeren had a match-high 46 assists, nine digs and five kills. Three Argos ended the night with double-figure digs, paced by 16 from defensive specialist Ashton Marshall. Cooler added 11 while defensive specialist Britta Hibbs had 10.

Patrick Bernadeau can be reached at pbernadeau@gannett.com, @PatBernadeau on Twitter or (850) 503-3828.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF volleyball aces tough Embry-Riddle test, earns Region Final berth