Volleyball Displays Composure Under Pressure in Defeat of Warner

LAKELAND, Fla.- The Southeastern University volleyball team may be youthful, but the Fire looked seasoned in a competitive Sun Conference opener versus the Warner University Royals. The Fire battled through momentum swings and a wild fourth set to surpass the Royals 3-1.

 
After opening the first set at a 9-3 deficit to WU, SEU retaliated with a 6-0 run, which featured back-to-back service aces by Grace Petty to knot things up 9-9.


The Fire trailed or were tied with the Royals the entire first set until Southeastern freshman setter Ally Postlethwaite was able to sneak one past the Warner front line to give the Fire their first lead of the set 21-20. Freshman Kennedy Jones recorded a kill and an ace during crunch time of set number one, as the Fire closed it out on a 5-2 run to capture the session 25-22. 


Southeastern struggled with efficiency in its attack throughout the second set, committing 11 attack errors after only having four in the opening set. Despite the miscues, the Fire only trailed 15-13 midway through the set. However, the Royals compiled a 6-0 run to pull further ahead and ultimately close out the session 25-17.


The Fire did not hang their heads but instead responded with a dominant third set. SEU hit a match-high .333 in set number three, recording 11 kills and just two errors in 27 attempts. Southeastern opened up the set on a dynamic 10-1 run. Warner was only able to trim the deficit to as low as six throughout the remainder of the set, as the Fire took a 2-1 lead with a 25-13 victory in set three.


After not playing in the first two sets, freshman Emilia Harding played the final two sets and provided a spark off the bench for the Fire, posting four kills in each set, including four all-important kills during crunch time of what proved to be a incredible fourth set.


"I knew the team morale was kind of low after the second set," commented Harding. "I just knew I had to go in there and bring positive energy. That's what Coach always tells us to do whether we are on the court or on the bench."


The fourth set of play between the Fire and the Royals featured an astounding 15 lead changes. Kennedy Jones notched nine of her 16 kills during the final set of play. The Fire found themselves at a 22-17 deficit in the set before rocketing off a 5-0 run to tie things up 22-22. From that point on Southeastern survived three set points, while the Warner fended off four match points.


With the score tied 29-29, Harding posted three kills over the next four Fire points, with the last kill putting SEU ahead 32-31. A Warner attack error ended the marathon set and cemented the four-set victory for the Fire.


"That last set showed that we have the ability to close out a tough game," commented SEU head coach Audrey Goldsberry. "I was very proud of them and the minimal amount of errors we had at the end. We protected our house."


Freshman Sandy Cao tied her season-high in kills at 21 to lead all players. Petty finished with three service aces. Chapel Cunningham totaled a team-best four blocks on the night. Postlethwaite led all setters with 44 assists and 18 digs. 


The Fire trek on in Sun Conference play with a road contest at Keiser University this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.