LAKELAND, Fla.—In front of its home fans for the first time in 2017, the Fire volleyball team got out to a fast start, and held on for a 3-0 win over Johnson University (Fla.).
Southeastern (8-3) was dominant in the opening set, posting a .538 hitting percentage with 16 kills on 26 swings during a 25-6 win. The Fire scored the first seven points of the match, and the final seven points of the match.
Things weren't as clean as the match progressed, with the SEU hitting percentage fell off to just .130 in the second, recording six errors with their nine kills. Fortunately for the Fire, the Suns (0-10) failed to register a kill in the set.
Even without the benefit of a kill, the Suns through a pair of aces, a ball handling error and an attack error held an early 6-4 lead. Six straight Fire points later, SEU had the set under control, and picked up a 25-12 win.
The hitting percentage fell off more in the third set, dropping down to .082 with 12 kills and eight errors. The Suns scored three of the first four points, two coming on errors by the Fire. Kills by
Kelsey Morton and
Kaitlin Boyd, along with an attack error by the Suns allowed the Fire to hang on for a 25-21 win in the final set.
Boyd and Morton had eight kills each, with Boyd posting a .429 hitting percentage.
Natalie Anderson had 14 assists, with
Courtney Krause adding 13.
Keniah Rivera Santiago had a match-best 12 digs, with
Kiana Sawtelle and
Kaity Reed each adding 11.
The Fire return to action on Thursday, hosting Faulkner at 7:30 p.m.
