Southeastern Claims First Sun Conference Title

Southeastern Claims First Sun Conference Title

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Donnie Smith

LAKE WALES, Fla.—Coming into The Sun Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed, the Southeastern volleyball team was a bit under the radar. Especially since it would have to likely beat two teams they had gone a combined 0-4 against this season.
 
Challenge accepted.
 
Southeastern dethroned top-seeded, and undefeated in conference play, Warner 3-1 at the Turner Athletics Center to claim the program's first Sun Conference volleyball title.
 
With the win, the Fire have earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time as well.
 
The Fire totaled five blocks, 13 kills, and a pair of aces to come away with a 25-17 win in the first set. The Fire trailed the first set 11-10, but scored three straight points to take a 13-11 lead and force a Warner timeout. Southeastern closed the set on a 7-3 run to claim the win.
 
The second set was similar to the first, in which neither team led by more than three, until the Fire scored the final three points of the set on a kill by Lindsey Fleming and a pair of kills by Lydia Rooth. During the second set, the Fire added three more blocks, 18 kills and an ace in a 25-21 win.
 
The Fire winning the second set marked the first time in conference play this year the Royals dropped two sets in the same match.
 
Warner struck back with a vengeance in the third set, building a, 11-point advantage with a 9-3 run to take a 20-9 lead, and cruised to a 25-13 win.
 
Southeastern got back on track in the fourth set after trailing 10-7 with a pair of kills by Lydia Rooth and an ace by Bailey Friesen to take an 11-10 lead. Neither team led by more than one until the Fire took a 22-20 lead on another kill by Trueheart, but a service error got the Royals back into the set.
 
With the set tied at 23, the Fire got kills from Trueheart and Kojo to claim the title.
 
Rooth totaled a team-best 16 kills, and added nine digs and two blocks. Kojo chipped in 12 kills with a .556 hitting percentage and five total blocks. Morton was also in double-figures with 12 kills, and assisted on five blocks.
 
Fleming totaled 43 assists, had 13 digs, and assisted on two blocks. Alyssa Prescott had a team-best 19 digs, and Trueheart added 13 along with her nine kills.
 
Southeastern will find out its next opponent tomorrow at 9 p.m. during the NAIA National Championship Selection Show. The match will be played at a campus site on Saturday November 21st.