LAKELAND, Fla. – Southeastern University volleyball remained unbeaten in Sun Conference play Saturday afternoon, defeating Keiser University in four sets inside The Furnace.
The Fire improved to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play with the 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23 victory. Keiser dropped to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in league action.
Laura Bonomi led the Fire with 17 kills and 20 digs, recording her sixth consecutive double-double and 11th of the season. Jillian Zoerman added 13 kills and seven digs, while Lucrezia Ceroni delivered an efficient performance with six kills on 13 attempts without an error for a .462 hitting percentage.
Defensively, Mallori Grey recorded a career-high 35 digs, while setter Haven Speer distributed 47 assists to go with three service aces and eight digs. Laura Santangeletta contributed four kills and a team-high five total blocks.
The opening set remained tight throughout, with the teams tied at 20 late in the frame. Southeastern responded by scoring five of the final seven points, with kills from Zoerman and Bonomi helping the Fire secure a 25-22 victory.
Southeastern carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage behind Grey's serve. Keiser pulled within two at 11-9, but the Fire never relinquished the lead and closed out a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Keiser answered in the third, using a late run to turn a one-point Southeastern lead into an 18-14 advantage before taking the set 25-20 and extending the match.
The Seahawks threatened to force a fifth set in the fourth, but Southeastern delivered its biggest response of the afternoon with Grey at the service line. The Fire put together a seven points in a row behind their libero's serve, erasing Keiser's 19-14 advantage, giving Southeastern the point difference in the deciding set. The Fire finished off the comeback, 25-23, to secure the four-set victory.
Southeastern totaled 50 kills, six service aces, 92 digs and seven blocks in the match while holding Keiser to a .132 hitting percentage. The Seahawks committed 32 attack errors over the four sets.
The Fire return to The Furnace on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to host Webber International University.
