LAKELAND, Fla.—In their third match in as many days, the Fire swept the University of St. Francis (Ill.) by scores of 25-16, 31-29, and 25-15.
Southeastern picked up where they left off on Thursday night by starting the first set with a 10-2 run. During the stretch, senior
Kelsey Morton tallied two of her match-high 14 kills.
Kaity Reed added four kills as the Fire grew their advantage over the course of the frame to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The freshman finished the day with ten kills and seven digs.
The second set featured a tightly contested battle with long rallies and back-and-forth scoring. Neither team held more than a five point advantage at any point in the set, while there were a total of ten ties and eight lead changes in the game.
With the score tied at 28, Morton, who had ten kills in the set, delivered with three kills in the final four points to help the Fire to a 31-29 victory.
As Southeastern looked to sweep the Fighting Saints, the Fire impressed on both offense and defense. SEU killed 15 of their 38 attack attempts in the third set for a .237 hitting percentage.
Kiana Sawtelle made her presence known with eight of her 12 kills in the final frame. The Stuart, Florida native added a match-high .300 hitting percentage, while digging 14 St. Francis attack attempts.
Defensively, the Fire recorded five of their 12 total blocks in the last set, led by
Emily Boehlein, who recorded stuffs on four consecutive Southeastern points. Boehlein ended the contest with seven blocks, as SEU took the third game by a score of 25-15.
Keniah Rivera Santiago captained the back line with 16 digs in the competition, while setter
Natalie Anderson contributed with 11. Anderson led all players with 40 assists, averaging just over 13 assists per set.
The Fire will be back on the court tomorrow when they take on Johnson & Wales. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Furnace.
