LAKELAND, Fla.—After taking a 2-1 advantage into the fourth set, Southeastern dropped a tight five-set battle to conference opponent St. Thomas University 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-22, 15-11).
The Fire began the game with an impressive first set by recording 17 kills on a .406 hitting percentage to the Bobcats' mere .273 percentage. In the frame, four Southeastern players recorded at least four kills, including a set-high five from freshman
Kaity Reed, leading to a 25-19 win to put SEU up 1-0. Reed, the Pierceton, Indiana native tallied 17 kills and 17 digs in the competition.
St. Thomas edged Southeastern in a close 25-23 second game that started with a 15-7 Bobcats run. The stretch, which featured five errors by the Fire and six of Whitney Battoe's match-high 21 kills, proved too much for the Fire to overcome as the Bobcats evened the match by the slimmest of margins.
Battoe, a senior outside hitter, led the offensive threat for the Bobcats. She ended the contest with a .258 hitting percentage on 62 attempts. Not only did Battoe contribute on offense, but she also added 16 digs on the defensive side of the court.
Southeastern handled St. Thomas fairly easily in the third set due to runs of 12-3 and 10-1 points. Senior middle blocker
Kaitlin Boyd recorded four of her career-high 20 kills in the frame, while
Kelsey Morton added four of her career-high 16 kills in the set. The Fire tallied 18 kills with a .400 hitting percentage, while only making four errors. This offensive firepower allowed Southeastern to take a 2-1 advantage by winning the game 25-14.
Overall, the Fire killed 22 more attack attempts and dug 19 more attacks than their opponent did. SEU also out-hit St. Thomas by a slim margin .263 to .227. Freshman
Emily Boehlein contributed offensively for the Fire with nine kills and a team-high .444 hitting percentage, while
Natalie Anderson handled the majority of the setting responsibilities by assisting on 37 kills.
Four Southeastern players finished the game with at least 12 kills, but the offense sputtered late in the match. After recording higher hitting percentages through the first three sets, the Fire were out-hit in both the fourth and the fifth frames, while tallying nine errors in the deciding game.
St. Thomas forced a fifth set by taking game four 25-22 behind a late 9-1 run, which featured two of Courtney White's 11 kills. White led the Bobcats with 17 digs and a .320 hitting percentage. Kimberly Martino captained the Bobcats in the assist category with a match-high 41 helpers.
In the final set, the Bobcats didn't make a mistake, while Southeastern committed nine errors, allowing St. Thomas to win the set 15-11 and take the match 3-2.
The Fire will be back in action on Wednesday as they take on Keiser University in the Furnace at 7 p.m.
