WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Fire held the lead in all seven Saturday sets but settled for a split on the day. Southeastern University prevailed in straight sets, 3-0, over Olivet Nazarene in the early morning, but NAIA Qualifier University of the Cumberlands took away the second match in a 3-1 volleyball final on the second day of the Viper Sports Academy Classic.
After taking the first to sets 25-22 and 25-23,
Kennedy Jones completed the Fire (2-1) comeback from down by as many as six points with the match-deciding kill of the third set and 25-23 final over the Tigers (1-2).
Despite leading by at least three points in the opening sets, Southeastern saw the Patriots escape with 25-22 and 25-23 wins for the 2-0 lead. The Fire took the lead midway through the third set and received a
Jenna Rogers service ace for a 25-20 final and extended the match. Southeastern raced out to a seven-point lead in the fourth set, when Cumberlands turned the momentum around and eventually posted the last four points for the 25-22 score to end the match.
With the split, Southeastern begins its campaign at 2-1 for the second year in a row. After a 24-11 season and qualifying for the NAIA Opening Round last fall, the University of the Cumberlands improved to 3-0, while Olivet fell to 1-2.
Individually for the Saturday morning pair of matches,
Cambry Pope was the outstanding Fire player. In the seven sets, she totaled 39 kills, six aces, three blocks and 25 digs with two double-doubles. In the first match, the senior outside hitter downed 15 kills with four aces, 12 digs and two blocks. Pope was just warming up as she pounded 24 kills at a .358 hitting rate to go with 13 digs, and a pair of aces against the Patriots.
Joining Pope with her own pair of double-doubles was
Yarelis Lopez, who finished with 28 kills and 21 digs. Against ONU, Lopez had 13 kills, .323, 11 digs, two blocks and three assists. She followed it with 15 kills at a .448 percentage and 10 digs.
Setter
Alexandra Postlethwaite handed out 41 set assists to go with eight digs, an ace and two kills, while
Haven Speer added 37 assists, two kills and two aces. Libero Rogers dug 32 attacks and served four aces and had 11 assists.
The Fire will have almost a week off before it heads to Mobile, Ala., for the University of Mobile Tournament. SEU opens the three-day event against host University of Mobile on Thursday night, Aug. 22, in an 8 p.m. EST first serve.
