LAKELAND, Fla.- After a tough defeat against the defending national champs of Missouri Baptist, SEU volleyball looks to rebound this week with their home opener at The Furnace against Florida College. Upon the conclusion of that matchup, the Fire will head up to Mongomery, Ala. to compete in the Faulkner Invitational.
The Fire host the Falcons of Florida College Tuesday at 6 p.m. The last two matchups have seen the Fire come out victorious after sweeping both games the previous season. Overall, this will mark the 46th matchup between these two programs.
The Faulkner Invite will take place over the course of two days on Friday, August 26
th and Saturday, August 27
th.
Day one will see SEU take on William Carey University at 2 p.m., whom the Fire are 4-0 against all-time. The last time these two teams met came last season where Southeastern came out on top 3-1 after four competitive sets of play. The Crusaders have started the season strong with a 4-0 record coming off the Vette City Classic, led by Rahcel Hartmann and Reagan Huff, who have led the Crusaders with a combined 78 of the teams 200 kills through 4 games, thus far.
Game two of day one will consist of a matchup with Faulkner University. In 14 total games, the Fire have won six of those, including their last four. The last time these two teams faced each other, Southeastern came out victorious with stellar performances by
Sandy Cao (21 Kills, 19 digs) and
Alexandra Postlethwaite (44 assists, 2 aces). Faulkner University currently sits 2-2 after competing in the Chick-Fil-A classic this past week.
Day two begins with a matchup against Reinhardt University for the third game of the tournament. Last time these two teams played dates back to 2018, where the Eagles defeated the Fire in five sets. Sitting at 1-3, the Eagles will look to bounce back from their struggles in the Vette City Classic this weekend. Junior, Katherine Perrin leads the team with 33 kills, while senior, Alma Vazquez Nunez has been present with 59 digs through their first four games of the season. Reinhardt will need to shake off their 72 total errors as they contend this weekend.
The final game of the tournament will take place on day two versus the University of Mobile. Last year, these two teams met in August, where the Fire dropped the matchup in three sets. However, SEU looks to even out the series at six games apiece this weekend. This game saw the likes of
Alexandra Postlethwaite,
Kennedy Jones and
Holly Kaczmarek take care of business on the offensive side. All three of these starters are back and hungry for a different result. A final matchup like this will prove to be competitive as the Rams are coming off a 3-1 performance in the Vette City Classic, winning three consecutive games to close the previous week.
SEU will head into this week sitting at 1-3 in one of the tougher opening schedules of the NAIA. So far, the team has recorded 93 kills and a kill percentage of .140, while averaging 10.3 kills per set. Sophomore, Kaczmarek has consistently played both ends of the floor for the Fire with 52 digs so far, this season. Sophomores,
Grace Petty and Jones have led the offensive charge with 22 and 24 kills, respectively, while sophomore Postlethwaite continues to elevate her teammates with 59 assists through nine sets played.
To purchase tickets for Tuesday's game at home,
click here.
Â
