Volleyball Falls to Nationally Ranked Bobcats in SUN Championship Battle

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- Southeastern volleyball was crowned the Sun Conference Tournament runner-up today after dropping a four-set battle to the top-seeded St. Thomas University Bobcats, a team who has lost just two games all season.
 
For the second night in a row, Grace Petty, Cambry Pope, and Alexandra Postlethwaite all recorded double-doubles. Petty led the offense with 17 kills while also recording a team-high 20 digs. Pope concluded the contest with 16 digs and 12 kills, six of which came in the third set alone. Postlethwaite tallied 42 assists and 17 digs.
 
The No. 22 ranked Bobcats had a successful night at the net, recording nine blocks and holding the Fire to a .177 attack percentage.
 
The Fire had an equally successful night at the net with Chapel Cunningham and Emilia Harding each recording three blocks and Tatyana Lyons recording two, holding the nationally ranked Bobcat offense to just a .146 hitting percentage on the match.
 
Southeastern dropped set one 25-21 after a match-high 17 kills from the Bobcats. Trailing by as much as seven late in the set, the Fire used three kills by Lyons and three consecutive from Petty to bring the match within two. Back-to-back Fire errors concluded set one.
 
Errors plagued both teams in the second set as the Fire would fall behind 9-5 after four consecutive errors. The Fire began the gradual comeback down 17-11 with an 8-3 run backed by five Bobcat errors, forcing a Bobcat timeout with a 20-18 lead. The Fire errors and two kills by the Bobcats concluded set two.
 
Southeastern refused to roll over, countering their worst offensive set in set two with their best in set three. The Fire hit .353 on the back of six kills from Pope in set three and held the Bobcats to a set-low .026 attack percentage to take the commanding 25-14 set three win. Petty went to the service line six straight times to begin the set creating momentum for the Fire that would push them to a 11-2 lead. The Fire led the Bobcats by as much as 20-5 in set three.
 
The Bobcats hit a match-best .306 with 15 kills in set four to take the set 25-20 and claim the championship title. The Fire were forced to take a timeout trailing 9-3 after four attack errors but kills by four different people led a comeback that tied the contest at 14. Neither team led by more than two points until a Bobcat ace gave them the 21-18 edge. Three straight points by the Bobcats concluded set four and the match.

The Fire will now wait to see if their season will continue with an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament.