Falcons Kick Off 2023 Season at UFirst Tournament

Salt Lake City, Utah – The Falcons kicked off their regular season play on the road this past weekend at the UFirst Intermountain Invite hosted by Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The team kicked off their season in impressive form as they took down the #3 nationally ranked, Missouri State College – West Plains, in 3 straight sets in the kick off match for the tournament. Freshman Setter, Courtney McGuire, ran the offense like a veteran, securing 30 assists alongside freshman standout, Asia Montagnani, an outside hitter from Italy, who led the team with 11 kills and 6 aces. Returning 1st Team All-Region right side, Julia Rienks, continued her dominance on the court with 10 kills.

Following the match Thursday evening, the Falcons took on the host team, #5 nationally ranked Salt Lake Community College, in a hard-fought battle, but ultimately lost in 3 straight sets to the Bruins. With very little time to dwell on the loss, the team bounced back for a great win in 4 sets against a historically talented Central Wyoming College. The team once again showed great fight after losing the first set of the match 19-25 and coming back to secure the win in 3 straight sets after a 1st game falter. Sophomore standout middle blocker, Emma Testi, made her presence known with 9 kills, 3 blocks, and 2 aces.

The next day, the Falcons would again split 1-1 on the day. The team kicked off play with a battle against a very impressive #16 nationally ranked, Snow College, where the team would ultimately fall in 5 sets. The match that lasted nearly 2.5 hours was filled with back and forth play from both teams. Once again, Asia Montagnani led the team in kills with 14 and led the team in digs with 20. Emma Testi also had an impressive 11 kills on the match from the middle. Despite a great team effort, unforced errors by the Falcons led to the team's 2nd loss on the season.

To round off the tournament, the team would then take on College of Southern Idaho who has a history of being a powerhouse in the NJCAA. It looked like it may be another 5-set battle as the two teams went point for point in the first set where the Falcons ended up losing 26-28. However, the team did not back down. The Falcons would go on to win the next 3 sets 25-20, 25-21, and 26-24. Freshman, Asia Montagnani, once again made a name for herself leading the Falcons with 21 kills. Defensively, sophomore leader, Arianna Warner, led the team with 20 digs, followed closely by Freshman defensive specialist, Jaycee Davis, who secured 16 digs on the night.

"This tournament was an awesome opportunity for the Falcons to see high level competition early in the season…" stated head coach Laura Booker Anderson. "We are a young team, but I was so proud of the fight I saw in each match. This team is special. Yes, they are talented, but they have bought into the importance of having a strong culture and it truly showed in their play this weekend. Five matches in 3 days is a lot and this team certainly persevered. This trip was more than I could have asked for and exactly what we needed to kick off the 2023 season!"

The Falcons will kick off home play with a match against USC-Sumter at home on August 23rd at 6:00pm. $5 General Admission tickets are required for all non-Daytona State College students/staff and can be purchased at https://gofan.co/event/1083075?schoolId=FL99884.

Can't watch in person? Join us on online at https://www.team1sports.com/college/?S=daytonastate.