NORTH MIAMI, Fla.—The Fire went on the road to Johnson & Wales and routed the Wildcats in three sets (25-11, 25-8, 25-23) to complete the regular season with a 22-7 (12-4 TSC) record.
The Fire were able to separate themselves early in the match after falling behind initially. With an 8-6 lead in the opening set, Southeastern went on a 15-2 run, fueled by eight kills and two blocks to blow the game open.
Kaitlin Boyd was a major reason for Southeastern's success against Johnson and Wales. The senior from Lakeland pummeled the ball for kills six times in the second set, barely giving the Wildcats a chance to string together an attack. SEU scored 13 points off of attacks in the frame and limited their errors to take the game 25-8.
The Wildcats attempted to come back in the third set with 14 kills, but the Fire matched Johnson & Wales' offense by killing 14 of their own attack attempts. Boyd added seven more of her match-high 15 kills in the period, including one on the last play of the match which allowed Southeastern to edge the Wildcats 25-23 in the final set.
Overall, explosive offense was the difference in the contest. The Fire were able to out-hit the Wildcats .272-.030 by registering 39 kills to the Wildcats' 22. Boyd ended the competition with an astounding .789 hitting percentage, the second-highest this season.
Hannah Kinlaw contributed to the offense with a career-high 29 assists, while Keniah Rivera Santiago kept the Wildcats at bay with 16 digs, the most of any Fire player.
The Fire's triumph on Saturday afternoon gives Southeastern its most regular season wins since 2010, while recording a program-high 12 Sun Conference victories.
Southeastern will host Florida Memorial in the first round of the Sun Conference Tournament on Tuesday. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Furnace.
