Volleyball Riding Momentum into Regular Season Finale

LAKELAND, Fla.—After capping off their third consecutive five-set win on Saturday at Warner, the Fire will look to continue their winning ways as they face a trio of teams this week. Southeastern will travel to Ave Maria Wednesday night before hosting both Florida Memorial and Faulkner on Saturday.
 
GAME INFO:
Southeastern (20-3, 12-2 TSC) at Ave Maria University (6-14, 3-11 TSC)
Date: Wednesday, October 31st, 2018
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Ave Maria, Fla.
Game Coverage: Follow @SEUFireVBall on Twitter for in-game updates or watch online at portal.stretchinternet.com/avemaria
 

• Ave Maria hosts Southeastern as the Gyrenes look to keep their postseason hopes alive. With wins in their final two matches, and losses by Keiser, AMU could still clinch a spot in the Sun Conference Tournament.
• The Fire have won each of their past three matches by the slimmest of margins, edging out a trio of conference opponents in fifth sets. With the three victories, SEU remains locked into the second seed for the conference tournament, boasting a 12-2 record in league action.
• Part of SEU's success in these competitions has come from consistency out of junior Emily Kalmink and sophomore Emily Boehlein. Kalmink has notched 37 kills and 18 blocks in the last three contests to lead the team, while Boehlein has added 28 kills and a hitting percentage above .250 in all three matches. The junior ranks second in the conference in blocks per set (1.2) and the sophomore ranks 11^th (0.6).
• Ave Maria will try to stunt the stellar Fire offense by digging the ball off of the attack. The Gyrenes, who have three players with at least 200 digs this season, rank 47^th in the country in digs per set (17.5). Senior libero Daniela Jaramillo captains AMU with 285 digs, recording double-digit dig totals in each of the team's past six competitions.
• When the two teams met in the Furnace earlier this season, the Fire took the match from the Gyrenes in four.

 
GAME INFO:
Southeastern (20-3, 12-2 TSC) vs Florida Memorial University (10-13, 3-11 TSC)
Date: Saturday, November 3rd, 2018
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Game Coverage: Follow @SEUFireVBall on Twitter for in-game updates or watch online at seufire.com/watch
 

• Florida Memorial has posted a 3-7 record in its last ten matches, with eight of the contests coming against teams currently in a position to make the postseason tournament.
• Despite the recent struggles, the Lions have registered program-bests in wins (ten) and win percentage (.435) so far this season.
• Earlier this year, the Fire travelled to Miami and swept the Lions 3-0.
• FMU, who ranks sixth in the NAIA in service aces per game (2.3), is led by Sammyra Albarran. The outside hitter fuels the offense through aces and kills, as she averages 0.7 aces per set (sixth in the country) and 3.5 kills per game (49^th in the nation). Albarran is the frontrunner in the conference with 54 aces.

 
GAME INFO:
Southeastern (20-3, 12-2 TSC) vs Faulkner University (22-9, 13-2 SSAC)
Date: Saturday, November 3rd, 2018
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Lakeland, Fla.
Game Coverage: Follow @SEUFireVBall on Twitter for in-game updates or watch online at seufire.com/watch
 

• Faulkner travels down to Lakeland riding a 12-match winning streak. The Eagles, who haven't lost in over a month, lead the Southern States Athletic Conference with a 13-2 record.
• The Eagles' achievement has hinged on powerful defense. Faulker is the 23^rd-best blocking team in the country (233 total blocks) and the 25^th-ranked squad when it comes to digging the ball (2,072 total digs).
• Tori Marchant leads the way with 111 blocks on the year (35^th in the NAIA), while Julianna Wilkes ranks 12^th in digs per set (6.0). Marchant, a senior middle blocker, has stuffed at least one attack attempt in the last 13 matches. As the libero, Wilkes has tallied 20+ digs in 19 contests this season.
• SEU last played Faulkner in 2016 as part of the Faulkner Invitational, a game which the Fire captured 3-1.