MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Southeastern University volleyball battled St. Thomas University in a five-set thriller Saturday afternoon, ultimately falling to the Bobcats, 3-2.

The Fire opened the match with a hard-fought first set, but St. Thomas claimed the opening frame, 25-22. The Bobcats continued their momentum into the second set, taking it 25-21 to move within one set of the victory.

Facing a two-set deficit, SEU responded in a big way. The Fire controlled the third set, 25-20, before carrying that momentum into the fourth. SEU fought off the Bobcats, 25-21, to force a decisive fifth set.

In the final frame, St. Thomas edged the Fire, 15-11, to secure the five-set victory.

Jillian Zoerman led the Fire offensively with 17 kills, while Laura Bonomi added 20 kills. Lucrezia Ceroni contributed 10 kills, and Beatriz Cornachini finished with nine.

Haven Speer directed the SEU offense with 55 assists while also recording 12 digs. Mallori Grey led the Fire defensively with 25 digs, while Bonomi added 20 digs and Zoerman finished with six.

As a team, SEU recorded 68 kills on 196 attacks for a .230 hitting percentage. The Fire also collected 79 digs, five service aces and eight total blocks.

With the loss, SEU moved to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play, while St. Thomas improved to 12-5 overall and 6-0 in conference action.