Box Score MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Fire were not to be denied Friday night. Southeastern University trailed only a single point all night as they swept past Keiser University, 3-0, in the women's volleyball Sun Conference Tournament semifinals.
Tied at 9-9 in the opening set, the Fire ran off its first of three four-point bursts before Kennedy Jones and Chapel Cunningham teamed for a combo block and a 25-17 final. The Seahawks took their lone lead of the night with set number two's first point, but the Fire netted the next three, led by five midway through and Camryn Gebhards punctuated the win with a kill, 25-20. Keiser tied the third set, 5-5, but SEU never let them take a single lead as Yarelis Lopez downed the match-ending point, 25-23.
After splitting the season series, each winning at home, SEU showed up when it counted, making it clear early that they would be moving on to the championship. The Fire hit .268 as a team with 47 kills.
Lopez led the SEU hitters with 16 kills to go with four digs and an ace. Cambry Pope was right behind her with 13 kills, seven digs and three blocks. Jones missed being the third double-digit kill producer with nine, but she dug 12 attacks to go with a pair of blocks and an ace.
Setter Alexandra Postlethwaite recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs. Marysa Connors posted 19 digs from her libero position and had seven assists and one ace. Jenna Rogers served an ace and had a pair of digs.
Gebhards added five kills and two blocks, while Cunningham finished with high block honors of six and downed three kills.
With the victory, SEU (19-5) moves on to play top-seeded St. Thomas University in a rematch from last season's Sun Conference Championship, where the Fire dropped a 3-1 decision. The match will be played Saturday at 4 p.m.
