MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—The Fire dropped their match with Webber International in the Sun Conference Semifinals 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-16) to finish their season with a 23-8 (12-4 TSC) record.
Southeastern fell behind 7-2 early in the contest, but used a run fueled by three of Kelsey Morton's kills to cut the deficit to two at 12-10 midway through the frame.
The Warriors pummeled the ball in the opening set, with 18 kills and just three errors, which allowed them to create separation and go up 1-0 with a 25-19 win.
In a tightly contested second set, Morton tallied two kills and a block in three of Southeastern's first four points, enabling the Fire to take a 9-7 lead. The senior from Plant City ended the contest with a team-high 13 kills.
SEU then tried to stunt the Warriors' strong offensive attack with resilient defense in the game. Morton stuffed four of Webber's attack attempts, as the Fire evened the competition at 20.
Kiana Sawtelle and Keniah Rivera Santiago also exerted a great deal of effort on defense with 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Sawtelle added seven kills in the competition.
Despite phenomenal defensive determination in the second period, which featured six ties after the 20-point mark, the Fire were edged 28-26 and Webber went up 2-0.
The Warriors' offense overpowered Southeastern's defense in the third and final set, as Webber opened the game on an 11-3 run and didn't look back. WIU eventually took the match with a 25-16 win.
Webber, who had three players with double-digit kills, combined for 50 killed attack attempts on the day and hit .345. Sun Conference Setter of the Year Carlee Baxter contributed to the high-powered offense with 40 assists, while Michelle Calderon added a match-high 20 digs defensively.
Though the Fire fell in the semifinal, Southeastern had an impressive season.
The Fire finished their season with a 23-8 record, the most wins since 2010. The .742 win percentage this year was the second-highest total ever (only topped by the 2005 team who went 28-7 with a .800 win percentage).
With a 12-4 mark in Sun Conference play, SEU also picked up a program-best 12 conference victories in 2017.
