Women's volleyball team opens conference season Wednesday on the road

The Eastern Florida State College women's volleyball team will open the Citrus Conference schedule Wednesday night on the road.

The 19^th-ranked Titans will travel to Miami Dade College for a 6 p.m. match in Kendall. The second-ranked Sharks come into the contest 10-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

"I think that the team is coming along slowly, but we are where we want to be heading into conference. We have learned from our mistakes, my biggest thing is that we can learn from the losses and mistakes of the past and bring that experience and mentality into conference play," Eastern Florida State College women's volleyball coach Melito Eleutiza said. "I am happy. The girls know the conference schedule is tough and we have to go out and show what kind of team we are."

Miami Dade College's Mia Martine leads the FCSAA in digs per set at 5.56 and has 178 digs this season and also leads the conference in service aces per set. 

Eastern Florida State College has won four straight and heads into the week 9-4 on the season. Freshman Lesmary Raffucci is leading the FCSAA in kills per set, averaging 3.97 with 123 kills in 13 matches, while sophomore Dominae Jordan has 121 kills, averaging 3.90 kills per set which is second in the FCSAA.

"We are very excited about them, they have been carrying us for most of the season," Eleutiza said. "Dom has shown more maturity and her leadership on and off the court has been great. Lesmary is one of those players that is special and keeps improving every match. I believe the more she learns to play at this level the more she is going to dominate this level."

Teammate Sarah Henault has 149 digs and is averaging 4.81 digs per set which is second in the FCSAA.

Wednesday's match is the first of two big road matches for the Titans who will head to No. 1 Florida Southwestern on Saturday afternoon.

"It is always a battle, you are playing a team that is ranked second in the nation and then you have FSW on Saturday. We have our work cut out for us but at the same time, this is what you play for," Eleutiza said. "I am looking forward to playing good competition, watching the team continue to get better. There is no pressure on us."

Wednesday's match will be shown live online here.