The Lady Falcons rounded out their 2021-2022 season with a second place finish in their first year as members of the Continental Athletic Conference.
Head coach Carry Brown had six returners from the previous year and ultimately brought in 11 freshmen for this year's recruiting class. The Lady Falcons had a rough start to the season, going one for four in the first five matches of the year.
Florida College later hosted a classic featuring Montreat College, Pensacola Christian, and Brewton-Parker College and nearly had a perfect weekend winning four of five matches with their only loss to Montreat in five sets. Returners Krista Trimble, Emma Noskey, and Emilie Selvidge were classic weekend standouts and newcomer Kymber Brown had a number of digs against the competition which played a huge part in their wins that weekend. The CAC named Trimble and Selvidge the conference's first players of the week. Trimble was named Attacker of the Week after posting 10 or more kills in six of nine matches. Selvidge was named Setter of the Week with a total of 163 assists, averaging 4.66 assists per set.
The Lady Falcons later took on Florida National University and defeated them at home in four sets. A few weeks later, the Conquistadors answered back with a win in three sets. While playing Florida National, senior Allison Rogers celebrated a milestone of 1,500 career assists.
In October, they traveled to Lawrence, Kans. to play in the CAC Classic at Haskell Indian Nations University. While at Haskell, they took on Cottey College, Crowley's Ridge, and Lincoln Christian. The Lady Falcons won two of three matches, losing in five to Cottey College. Junior Adriana Bravo had a stellar performance and was named the CAC's Attacker of the Week. She tallied 35 kills and hit .304 over the weekend, 16 of those kills against Cottey and 10 against Crowley's Ridge. During the CAC Classic, junior Emilie Selvidge reached a milestone of 1,000 career assists.
The Lady Falcons earned a spot at the CAC Tournament alongside defending Association of Independent Institutions (now CAC) champions Cottey College, AII runner-ups Lincoln Christian University, and CAC newcomers Florida National University.
On the first day of the conference tournament, the Lady Falcons played 15 sets over three games. They lost their first game against Florida National and redeemed themselves with wins against Cottey College and Lincoln Christian. Freshman Carolina Ramalheira had an outstanding 16 kills against Florida National and Emma Noskey had 19 kills against Cottey College and 17 against Lincoln Christian. Junior Adriana Bravo had 27 digs against Lincoln Christian as well. At the end of the first day, Florida College, Florida National, and Lincoln Christian all had 2-1 records. The Lady Falcons were given the second seed behind Florida National.
On the second day of the CAC tournament, the Lady Falcons swept Lincoln Christian. Emma Noskey and Krista Trimble both reached double digits in kills, and Adriana Bravo had 13 digs. Florida National defeated the Lady Falcons in four sets for the championship title. Florida College's Adriana Bravo, Emma Noskey, and Krista Trimble were named to the CAC's All-Tournament team. Trimble also hit two milestones over the weekend and reached 1,000 career kills and digs.
The Lady Falcons received a bid to the NAIA National Tournament and traveled to Montana to take on the No. 5 University of Providence. They finished out their season with a 21-20 record.
Throughout the season, the Lady Falcons received a number of awards.
Emma Noskey was named the CAC Player of the Year, 1st Team All-Conference, and was a three-time CAC Player of the Week. She also earned a spot on the CAC All-Tournament team and AVCA All-Region team, as well as being named an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.
Emilie Selvidge was named the CAC Setter of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference. She was also a four-time CAC Player of the Week.
Krista Trimble was named 1st Team All-Conference and earned a spot on the CAC All-Tournament Team. She was also a two-time CAC Player of the Week.
Adriana Bravo was named 2nd Team All-Conference, made the All-Tournament Team, and was named CAC Player of the Week.
At the end of the season, the Lady Falcons celebrated senior Allison Rogers for the role that she played for the Lady Falcons and at Florida College. She finished with 1,650 career assists.
"This was one of the most challenging teams I have ever coached. We brought in 11 freshmen and only had six returners, and we didn't start off the way we wanted to. There were high expectations for this freshman class to come in and complement our returning players, but when they are expected of so much so quickly, you go with who is giving your team what you need at that moment. We went through several line-up changes this season and it was tough. We had freshman only practices that ultimately gave our team the push we needed to work together," said Brown. "Once we started competing as a team, we were tough to beat. Our conference tournament was exhausting, but we played our hearts out. The best part about losing, is losing to a team whom you respect and care for. After the match was over, both teams hugged and congratulated each other. Coaching in today's world, it was a beautiful thing to watch these athletes have so much love and respect for one another. We finished the season 21-20 and with a hunger to win our conference in the fall of 2022."
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up