Women's Volleyball | 10/27/2017 9:43:00 PM
Box Score MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.— The Fire went on the road to St. Thomas Friday night and fell 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 26-28, 25-21, 15-11) to the Sun Conference leading-Bobcats.
The Fire started the match with four straight points, but the Bobcats used 8-0 and 6-0 runs to take the opening set 25-18.
Southeastern began the second set in impressive fashion with two of
Kelsey Morton's 15 kills, the most of any Fire player, as they jumped out to a 16-9 advantage.
The Bobcats came back with a 7-0 stretch, but back-to-back kills by Morton along with an emphatic block by freshman
Emily Boehlein, helped the Fire edge St. Thomas 25-23 to even the competition at a set a piece. Boehlein added nine kills on a hitting percentage of .316 and finished the night with a match-high seven blocks.
While the first two sets involved runs by both teams, the third frame was the closest of the match.
In a set that featured 11 ties,
Kaitlin Boyd came up huge to give the Fire a 2-1 advantage. The senior, who entered the competition ranked fourth in the country in hitting percentage, registered seven of her 13 kills in the game, as Southeastern took the set 28-26. Boyd ended the night with seven digs and a .300 hitting percentage.
Setter
Natalie Anderson notched the 50-assist mark for the second time this season by contributing to the offense with 50 helpers, tying her career-high which she set earlier this season in a contest against Webber.
After going up 2-1 in the match, errors plagued the Fire as the Bobcats made a comeback to win the contest. The team with the lower hitting percentage lost every set, meaning that keeping errors to a minimum was vital to success in the match.
Leading 9-8 in the fourth frame, the Fire committed three of their eight errors in the set, allowing the Bobcats to take a lead they wouldn't surrender. St. Thomas, who is now 12-0 in Sun Conference play, took the game 25-21 to even the match at two.
The Fire made five mistakes in the fifth game, compared to St. Thomas' two. Whitney Battoe led the Bobcats with 17 kills and 16 digs on the night, as St. Thomas went on a 7-0 run in the final set.
Five Fire players tallied double-digit dig totals in the five-set match.
Keniah Rivera Santiago tried to stunt the Bobcats' attack with her season-high 34 digs, but the Fire ultimately fell 15-11 in the deciding frame.
The Fire will look to bounce back on the court versus Florida Memorial tomorrow at 12 p.m.
