LAKE WALES, Fla. -- SEU Volleyball clinched a bye into the semifinals of the Sun Conference Tournament with a straight-set sweep of Warner, taking the match 27-25, 25-21, 25-19 to improve to 21-3 overall and 11-2 in league play. The Fire hit an efficient .265 for the night while holding the Royals to just .125, highlighted by a consistent offensive rhythm and a strong back-row effort that produced 73 digs.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle that saw 10 ties before SEU pulled away late. The Fire erased a Royals late first set lead to level the score at 24-24, with kills from
Laura Bonomi and
Yarelis Lopez helped Southeastern cementing the comeback first set victory at 27-25. The Fire carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind a pair of early aces from
Ashley Downs. Southeastern never trailed in the frame, hitting .333 as Lopez and Bonomi combined for nine kills to push the lead to 2-0 in the match.
In the third, Southeastern's offense remained balanced as Bonomi and Lopez continued to score in key moments while
Haven Speer and Downs kept the attack flowing with precise setting. The Fire limited Warner to nine kills in the frame while hitting .214 to close out the match in convincing fashion.
Bonomi led all players with 16 kills on .286 hitting to go with 15 digs for a double-double. Lopez added 14 kills and matched Connors for the team lead with 16 digs, while Speer and Downs split setting duties effectively, handing out 19 and 17 assists respectively. Connors anchored the back row with another steady performance as the Fire out-dug the Royals 73-66 and tallied 47 kills.
With the victory, Southeastern locks up a top-two finish in the regular-season standings and a direct berth into the Sun Conference semifinals. The Fire will travel to Miami Gardens on Saturday to face St. Thomas at 2 p.m. in a showdown for the regular-season title and the right to host the tournament's final rounds.
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