BRUNSWICK, Ga.—After trailing Coastal Georgia 2-1 in a hostile environment, Southeastern rallied to win in five sets (15-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-23, 15-11) and capture the team's fifth consecutive victory. With the triumph, the Fire improved to 12-1 (4-0 TSC) on the season, remaining undefeated in conference play.
Southeastern was out-hit .172 to .152 in the contest, with the Mariners producing 16 more kills than the Fire offense; however, a defensive determination propelled SEU to the comeback win, as Southeastern blocked nearly double the amount of attack attempts as CCGA. Seven different Fire players finished the game with multiple blocks, compared to Coastal's three.
A pair of 4-0 runs in the fourth set gave SEU a chance to survive after dropping two sets where they won the first four points. The Fire once again built a 4-0 advantage in the fourth frame, but were able to tie the match by the slimmest of margins 25-23 thanks to a spectacular effort by the back row.
Keniah Rivera Santiago got to nearly every attack hit her way. The senior, who has led the team in digs in every competition this season, kept the Fire in the match by digging a total of 30 attempts throughout the five sets.
Avery Bradshaw tallied 16 digs, while
Hannah Kaszubowski collected 11 to round out the SEU players with double-digit dig totals.
In the deciding set, back-to-back kills by
Emily Kalmink propelled the squad to a 7-4 lead. The junior from Byron Center, Michigan ended the night with a team-high 11 kills and an impressive .310 hitting percentage.
Southeastern finished the Mariners off with three blocks, two by
Taylor Gregory and one by Kalmink, the top two blockers in the Sun Conference respectively, as SEU claimed a massive road victory with a 15-11 win in the final set. Gregory blocked a total of eight CCGA attacks, while Kalmink stuffed seven, five of which were solo blocks.
The Fire will return home for a matchup with Johnson & Wales on Saturday, as Southeastern looks to extend their win streak to six. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Furnace.
