LAKELAND, Fla.— For the seventh consecutive season, the Fire volleyball team will travel to Montgomery, Ala. to participate in the Faulkner Invitational. Southeastern, the preseason favorite to win the Sun Conference, will take on a pair of teams each day, playing four matches over the weekend to officially begin the 2018 campaign.
GAME INFO:
Southeastern University (0-0) vs. William Carey University (0-0)
Date: Friday, August 24, 2018
Time: 1 p.m. EST
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
The Fire:
- The Fire are coming off one of their best seasons in program history. Southeastern won 23 games (12 versus conference opponents, the most since joining TSC in 2009), while boasting the greatest win percentage since 2010 (.742).
- Sophomore middle/outside hitter Emily Boehlein and senior libero Keniah Rivera Santiago come back to a roster that lost four all-conference players from a season ago. Boehlein led the team with 79 assisted blocks, the second-most in a single year in program history, while Rivera Santiago captained the back row with a team-high 523 digs.
- SEU also returns setter Courtney Krause, who saw significant minutes last year. Krause registered 357 assists in a two-setter system in 2017.
- The Fire have won five consecutive season openers dating back to the 2012 campaign.
The Crusaders:
- William Carey comes into the 2018 season following a 22-12 record last year. The Crusaders ended with a 9-5 conference record, but were ousted from the SSAC Tournament in pool play after consecutive losses.
- The Crusaders lost SSAC Freshman of the Year, Caroline Golden, who tallied 375 kills and 387 digs; however, they return ten players from a season ago.
- Middle blocker Megan Zulli and setter Gillian Tripp are both back from the 2017 team. Zulli killed 269 attack attempts and recorded a team-high 67 blocks, while Tripp assisted on a squad-best 709 kills.
- Last year in the Faulkner Invitational, the then second-year program went 3-1.
GAME INFO:
Southeastern University (0-0) vs. (RV) University of Mobile (0-0)
Date: Friday, August 24, 2018
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
The Rams:
- Mobile comes into the Faulkner Invitational on a 21-game regular season win streak. The Rams, who finished 2017 with a remarkable 38-4 record and won 26 straight last year, easily swept through the SSAC Tournament en route to their first conference championship.
- The team returns 17 players from last season, including junior Marilla Gatterdam, who won the AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year Award for her efforts in 2017. Gatterdam led the Rams with 521 kills and added 170 digs on the year.
GAME INFO:
Southeastern University (0-0) vs. Tennessee Wesleyan University (2-2)
Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018
Time: 11 a.m. EST
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
The Bulldogs:
- After a 6-24 (2-15) record in 2017, the Bulldogs have already managed to pick up two victories in four attempts this season, which is their best four-game start since 2012.
- Tennessee Wesleyan notched the wins by beating Mayville State in four sets before edging Life in five at Coastal Georgia's tournament last weekend.
- So far, the Bulldogs have been led by the attacking duo of sophomores Sydney Ritten and Marjorie Smith. The top two hitters on the team with 47 and 44 kills through four matches, respectively, both had phenomenal outings in the victories. Ritten killed 17 attempts with just a sole error and a .552 hitting percentage versus Life, while Smith tallied 16 kills against Mayville State.
GAME INFO:
Southeastern University (0-0) vs. Brewton Parker College (0-1)
Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018
Time: 5 p.m. EST
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
The Barons:
- Brewton Parker struggled to find its rhythm during the 2017 season, ending the year with a 6-26 record and going winless in the tough SSAC Conference.
- Five players return from last season, including sophomore setter Marina Dennis and senior libero Krizia Cornejo. Dennis collected 650 assists in 2017, and Cornejo contributed with 201 kills and 273 digs a year ago.
- The Barons enter the Faulkner Invite at 0-1 following a 3-0 defeat versus Truett McConnell. In the match, Dennis led the squad with 16 assists, while Cornejo dug four attack attempts.
All-Time Information:
The Fire hold an 11-13 record in 24 matches against opponents in the tournament at Faulkner. Southeastern has faced Mobile five times in the invitational, winning two of the matchups. SEU has never gone winless at the Faulkner Invitational, but the team has not swept all four contests in any year either, going 3-1 in 2014 and 2016.
