Volleyball Concludes Season with Five-Set Loss to Bobcats in SUN Semifinals

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- Southeastern volleyball concluded their 2022 season today with a 14-13 overall record and 9-5 Sun Conference record after coming out on the losing end of a five-set battle with the top seeded St. Thomas University Bobcats.
 
Set one saw the Fire outplay the Bobcats, posting a .317 attack percentage compared to the Bobcats' .182 while also registering four aces on the Bobcat defense. The Fire led for the nearly the entirety of the set, conceding just one lead change halfway through the set when the Bobcats took the 11-10 edge with three consecutive kills. Emilia Harding registered five kills in set one to aid the Fire in their 25-20 set one win.
 
In set two, the Fire led by as much as six points with yet again just one lead change as they were able to capitalize on the Bobcats' seven attack errors to take the 2-0 lead with the 25-21 win. Grace Petty came alive in set two, recording seven kills out of the Fire's 15.
 
The Fire were unable to come away with the three-set sweep as the Bobcats would bring the score to 2-1 after taking set three 25-22. The Fire would record four errors and 12 kills while the Bobcats' .180 attack percentage would prove just enough to force a set four. The Fire held a 17-15 lead but five consecutive kills for the Bobcats tilted the scales in their favor for the remainder of the set.
 
The attack errors plagued the Fire in set four, committing six compared to just eight kills. The Bobcats countered the Fire's miniscule hitting percentage with their highest of the day, posting a .306 with 15 kills and would come up with five blocks at the net to force a winner-take-all-set five.
 
The Bobcats showed no mercy in the tiebreaker as the would take the set 15-9 and the match 3-2 with 12 kills and two blocks in the final set to conclude the Fire's season.
 
Petty led the way for the Fire offense with 16 kills while Kennedy Jones posted a team-best .289 hitting percentage with 15 kills while Baylee Warneke concluded the contest with a season-high eight blocks. Aly Postlethwaite led the Fire in assists with 25 and Holly Kaczmarek recorded 21 digs.