LAKELAND, Fla.— After sweeping their last three opponents, the Fire will head on the road for battles with Coastal Georgia and Keiser that could ultimately determine Southeastern's conference tournament position.
The Fire travel to Brunswick, Georgia ranked third in the Sun Conference with a 16-6 (6-3 TSC) record. Since third and fourth place finishers get home matchups in the first round of the tournament, holding their place in the standings could have an impact on the Fire's postseason success.
Recently, Southeastern has dominated their competition, coming out victorious in seven of their last eight matches and prevailing in their last three without losing a set.
The Fire's recent success can be attributed largely to the trio of
Kaitlin Boyd,
Kelsey Morton and
Kaity Reed. The three players have combined for 122 of Southeastern's 187 kills in the last four competitions. Boyd has hit .417 against Sun Conference members, boosting her hitting percentage to .369 for the season, good enough for 11
th in the nation.
Coastal Georgia comes into the match with a 5-10 (4-4 TSC) record and sits in fourth position in the conference rankings, after dropping a five set contest to St. Thomas. The Mariners, preseason favorites to win the conference, have picked up pace as of late, winning four of their last seven competitions.
This winning stretch in conference play has been largely due to the performance of both Kyra White and Ashley Kot. White, the junior middle blocker, has tallied 108 of her 159 kills in conference play, while Kot averages 9.8 assists per set against Sun Conference opponents. Ehize Omoghibo leads the Mariners with 180 kills on the season and has played a vital role defensively with 40 total blocks.
On Saturday, Southeastern will travel to West Palm Beach, Florida to face Keiser University.
Keiser has won three of their last five contests, but sits in fifth place in the conference standings at 7-15 (4-5 TSC). Earlier this season, the Fire swept the Seahawks in the Furnace. Anna Seward led Keiser in the match with nine kills and five total blocks. Morton was the top attacker for Southeastern in the game with 14 kills and a .323 hitting percentage.
Seward has continued to be an offensive threat for the Seahawks since that game, recording at least eight kills in four of six matches and a .265 hitting percentage over the past three weeks.
Keiser likes to spread the ball around on offense, with four players over the 100-kill plateau. The Seahawks also play strong team defense at the net, as four players have tallied at least 30 blocks on the year.
The contest against Coastal Georgia is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m., while the Fire will take on Keiser at 2 p.m. Saturday.
