LAKELAND, Fla.—After dropping a tight contest on Wednesday night, the Fire responded with a total team victory by crushing Trinity College 3-0 (25-9, 25-4, 25-10).
Southeastern came out of the gates strong, largely due to the play of middle blocker
Kaitlin Boyd. The senior registered five of her match-high 11 kills in the first frame, while adding two digs.
The Fire hit an astounding .593 with 17 kills in the opening game compared to the Tigers' mere .050 hitting percentage with three kills, leading to an impressive 25-9 win in set one.
The Fire turned up the heat even more in the second frame thanks to a serving run by freshman
Hannah Kaszubowski. The Sebring, Florida native rattled off 15 consecutive serves, which included a service ace. During the stretch, Boyd stuffed four Trinity attack attempts and added six kills, as Southeastern took the second set by a score of 25-4. Boyd ended the night with an astounding .714 hitting percentage, her highest as a member of the Fire. Kaszubowski finished the game with five digs.
Southeastern held the Tigers' offense without a kill in the second frame, and only allowed one for the rest of the competition.
Overall, there was never a doubt Southeastern would come away with the victory. The Fire registered 44 kills to Trinity's four, nine aces, and six total blocks. SEU out-hit the Tigers .528 to -.177 in the contest by limiting their attack errors.
The domination continued in the third set, as the Fire spread the ball around. Six Southeastern players totaled as many kills as Trinity's entire team- Boyd (11),
Emily Boehlein (7),
Kaity Reed (6),
Kiana Sawtelle (6),
Kelsey Morton (5), and Amy Shermerhorn (4). Boehlein captained the Fire with four kills in the final frame to go with her .875 hitting percentage, as Southeastern closed out the match with a 25-10 win.
The Fire improved to 14-6 with the victory and will face St. Francis (Ill.) tomorrow in the Furnace at 3 p.m.
