Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.—In the first postseason volleyball match at The Furnace since 2014, the Fire came away with a 3-0 victory for a trip to the semifinals on Friday.
This marks SEU's (23-7) first semifinal appearance since winning the tournament in 2015.
"I think our girls were able to find some confidence tonight in the midst of having some fear when we were tied or down," said coach
Audrey Goldsberry.
The No. 3 seed came on strong in the first set, with setter Natalie Anderson helping out on defense, and nearly recording a double-double in the first set, posting 10 assists and nine digs in a 25-11 victory.
Anderson finished the night with 29 assists and 15 digs, along with a kill.
"It's something we practice often, since we usually try to take away the other team's setter, they usually try to do it to us," said Goldsberry. "Natalie knew she couldn't play lazy tonight and had to step up and get the job done."
Her favorite target at the net in the first two sets was Kiana Sawtelle, who finished with 12 kills, a .478 attack percentage, and 10 digs.
The Lions (10-16) closed the gap in the second set, never trailing by more than three in the first 27 rallies, and had the match tied seven different times. With the set tied at 11, the Fire used a 7-3 run to create some separation. Sawtelle had four of her kills during the run to help the Fire take the set 25-21.
The third set was similar, as it was tied at 10, but this time, the Fire were unable to create any breathing room until taking a 21-15 lead with four straight points, which saw two kills from freshman Kaity Reed. Reed finished with a team-high 13 kills, added 13 digs, and hit .346. SEU came away with a 25-16 win to close out the match.
In the back row, Keniah Rivera-Santiago had 11 digs, with Hannah Kinlaw adding 10 to join Sawtelle, Reed, and Anderson in double figures.
The Fire will take on Webber International on Friday at St. Thomas.
