LAKELAND, Fla.—Riding a four-game win streak, the Fire volleyball team is prepping for its first Sun Conference challenges of the 2015 season.
Last week, the Fire won three 3-0 matches against Trinity College, Florida National, and Trinity Baptist to move to 7-3 on the year.
"Last week some key positives that I saw was our ability to play hard and finish a game," said Coach
Audrey Gilbert. "I challenged a few players individually throughout the week and I could see their game improve as the week went on."
Thursday, the Fire will travel to Miami Gardens to take on preseason conference favorite, St. Thomas. The Bobcats enter the match at 13-3, and have already recorded a conference win against Florida Memorial on Monday in straight sets. They rank ninth in the NAIA in hitting percentage at .271, and average 13.3 kills per set.
"St Thomas is extremely strong offensively; they don't let up," said Gilbert. "I admire that about their team and look forward to seeing what our defense can do."
Individually, Dana Nowaczyk ranks 40
th in the NAIA in assists with 506. Marisa Markus (.247) and Whitney Battoe (.244) both rank in the top four in The Sun Conference in hitting percentage.
Saturday, the Fire will host Florida Memorial at 3 p.m. The Lions come in at 3-10, most recently beating Morris last Saturday. Junior Raquel Laing has recorded a team-high 87 kills.
"This week the key to success will be starting strong, playing strong, and finishing strong," said Gilbert. "We have no room to let up or give up."
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