LAKELAND, Fla. - After a 2-1 week, the Fire women's volleyball team, is preparing for a total of three matches, two of which are Sun Conference matchups. The Fire made quick work of both Trinity College and Ave Maria University in straight sets, but fell to Keiser University, three sets to one. With the week ahead, the Fire are aiming to climb the conference ladder and add a few more tallies in the win column.
Game 17: Southeastern University (9-7, The Sun Conference 2-4) vs. Warner University (8-4, The Sun Conference 4-2)
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Game 18: Southeastern University (9-7, The Sun Conference 2-4) vs. Johnson University (6-9, NCCAA 3-4)
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Game 19: Southeastern University (9-7, The Sun Conference 2-4) at. Florida Memorial University (2-9, The Sun Conference 2-4)
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Wild Fire: Lydia Rooth, Kelsey Morton, and Kaitlin Boyd pose as an intimidating attacking front for Southeastern.
Rooth is closing in on a career milestone that is potentially set to be accomplished this week. She is just 27 kills away from 1,000 for her career. In the 2016 campaign, Rooth has tallied 180 kills, 13 of which came in last weeks match against Ave Maria. While she is a force at the net, Rooth helps in the defensive department. Thus far, Rooth has posted 174 digs, which makes her 140 digs away from her 1,000th career dig.
Aiding Rooth in the offensive department is Kelsey Morton. The junior that prepped at Durant High School, has landed 146 kills with a hitting percentage of .267. Along with her kills, comes Morton's 43 blocks.
Boyd, a transfer from St. Petersburg College, is another of the Fire's well-rounded players. She has denied 47 attempts at the net while finishing 123 kills on the season.
Lindsey Fleming is the Fire's leading facilitator. Just recently, Fleming eclipsed the 2,000 career assists mark, and in the 2016 season alone, has totaled 464 assists.
Along with their strong attacking presence, the Fire are home to the Sun Conference's leading blocker Uche Kojo. Kojo is an absolute thrill to watch at the net, logging 68 blocks in 16 matches. She has also landed 116 successful kills which makes her a must watch in these next three matches.
The Royals: Warner comes into the contest against Southeastern in the top 10 of two offensive categories. The Royals rank 8th in all of the NAIA in both digs per game and service aces per game.
Adrienne Czaplewski leads the offensive charge for the Royals. Czaplewski leads the Sun Conference with 199 kills and ranks 8th in the NAIA in Kills per game. She also leads the Royals with 32 services aces. Czaplewski is a well-rounded player who has 152 digs on the year as well.
Another key piece to the Royals attack is the senior outside hitter, Angie Pagan-Perez. In the team's 12 matches, Pagan-Perez has executed 143 kills along with 12 service aces. While she is able to finish the point on the offensive side, she also has the ability to keep it alive on defense with her 149 digs.
While the Royals have a very formidable offense, their defensive play is quite impressive. Thalia Mendez leads the Royals with 267 digs which ranks 10th in the NAIA in digs per game.
Where Breighly Bolton and Ivelisse Saint-Clair ack in offense they make up for it on defense. The two women combine for 65 of the team's 79 blocks (Saint-Clair 35, Bolton 30).
The Royals a solid team throughout, will pose as a tough challenge for the Fire to overcome.
The Suns: Led by coach Bill O'Boyle in his first season, the Suns are coming off of a 1-1 week with a thrilling win over Mid-Atlantic Christian University in five sets. In their last meeting with the Fire, the Suns fell in straight sets.
The Suns are led by Lynnsey Glunt who, last week, logged 43 assists, 30 of which came in the big five set win over Mid-Atlantic Christian. With this impressive week, Glunt went on to win Athlete of the Week at her respective school.
Summer Parnell leads the Suns with 124 kills on the season. This total puts the sophomore from Lake Worth at 7th in all of NCCAA DII in kills.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tabitha Olender, the Locust Grove, Georgia native leads her team in digs, with 84.
The Suns aim to get revenge against a solid Fire team that is currently playing quality volleyball.
The Lions: While it has been a tough season for the Lions, they were able to pick up a conference win against Johnson & Wales University in straight sets. Both of their wins have come in defeating Wildcats.
Florida Memorial's offense is led by Jessica Medina who has converted 83 kills in her junior season. While the Lions defense may appear to be an all-hands-on-deck type of defense, Medina leads the team with 97 digs.
Rachel Laing is another key piece that the Lions will need a big match out of if they look to put out the Fire. In the 2016 season, Laing has landed 73 kills while logging 10 blocks at the net. The matchup between the Fire's Kojo, and the Lions Laing, will be one to take note of come Saturday.
Setting up the attack for the Lions is the freshman setter Angelique Lopez. The Puerto Rican Native has logged 198 assists and leads the team with 13 service aces.
Closing Thoughts: The Fire have an opportunity to land some key wins in the upcoming week. Even though the Fire lost in a five set thriller against the Royals, every set was closely contested. The factor in this match between the two teams is that the Fire are playing in the Furnace and are 4-1 when defending home court.
In the last meeting between the Fire and the Lions, the Fire were able to seal the deal with a straight set win at home. In the second meeting between these two teams, Southeastern will travel down south to Miami and aim to take home another Sun Conference win in order to be eligible for tournament play come November.
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