LAKELAND, Fla.—Once the Fire got going, things went well for it.
Southeastern (10-5) held off Keiser in the first set in extra points (27-25), before closing out with 25-16 and 25-20 wins for a 3-0 victory.
It was the defense that came up with some big plays for the Fire, totaling 73 digs and six blocks, holding the Seahawks (4-12) to a .098 team attacking percentage, and 11 or less kills in all three sets.
Keniah Rivera-Santiago had a match-best 18 digs, with freshmen
Kaity Reed (16) and
Kiana Sawtelle (15) also in double figures.
Southeastern jumped to a 5-1 advantage in the first set, but following a KU timeout, the Seahawks answered with four straight points to tie the match. Both teams held three-point leads, and Keiser had set point at 24-23, but a kill by
Kelsey Morton, and another from
Kaitlin Boyd gave SEU a chance at the first set. The Seahawks answered with a kill, but the Fire won the next two points on an attack error and another kill from Boyd to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set opened in similar fashion with the Fire leading 3-0, then surrendering the next four points. With the set tied at six, the Fire scored the next eight points. Three came off of attacking errors, and two were the results of blocks by Boyd and
Courtney Krause.
The third set stayed close throughout, until the Fire scored the last four points of the night, three on kills by Reed, Morton, and
Emily Boehlein.
Morton was the top attacker, posting 14 kills and a .323 attacking percentage. The Plant City native also added a block and three digs. Sawtelle added 11 kills, and assisted on two blocks.
Natalie Anderson was the top facilitator with a team-best 27 assists.
The Fire hit the road on Friday to take on Ave Maria in their next Sun Conference match.
