LAKELAND, Fla.—With 10 matches played and a nearly 10 day layoff, the Fire volleyball team will host its first match of the 2017 season on Tuesday.
The Fire seemed to click during the Bryan Bash, winning 12 of 15 sets played, and finishing the weekend as the only unbeaten team. All-Tournament selections
Keniah Rivera Santiago and
Kiana Sawtelle were also honored by The Sun Conference as the defender and attacker of the week, respectively.
Through 10 matches, the Fire have dialed up 67 aces, which is the most in The Sun Conference to start the year, and 1.9 aces per set is third-most in the league. Freshman
Hannah Kaszubowski is the conference co-leader at 16.
Southeastern hosts Johnson University for its home opener. The program, which is still in its infancy, is looking for its first win of the season through nine matches. Saturday, the Suns lost 3-1 to Johnson University (Tenn.) and 3-0 to Trinity College. In the loss to Trinity, Brittney Rittenhouse led the way with seven kills, and Tabitha Olender paced the back row with 12 digs.
The first 100 staff and students with ID will receive a free Kona Ice. The first 100 will also get a free poster. There will also be a serve for pizza contest between the second and third sets, and a postgame autograph session.
The Fire begin Sun Conference play on Saturday in Miami Gardens against St. Thomas. The Bobcats are currently 1-5, having struggled over the weekend at the Southern Challenge, picking up a win over Bethel 3-1, and dropping 3-0 matches to No. 19 Georgetown and No. 5 Lindsey Wilson, and a 3-1 match to Union.
St. Thomas is currently The Sun Conference leader in hitting percentage at .184, with Whitney Battoe leading the way at .204. Battoe leads the league in kills per set at 4.
The Bobcats won both matches last year by the count of 3-0. SEU last beat St. Thomas on November 13, 2015 at Warner in The Sun Conference semifinal 3-2. The Fire last won in Miami-Dade County on September 21, 2013.
