When two teams are very familiar with one another and evenly matched, the game is typically decided by intangible things. Things like momentum, crowd energy, and hustle could be the thing that puts a team over the top.
 
Florida Memorial University women's volleyball head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton believes her team's success will hinge on its hustle Tuesday night when the Lions host conference – and neighborhood – rival St. Thomas University in the opening round of the Sun Conference championship tournament at the FMU Wellness Center.
 
One of the largest crowds of the season is expected for the game, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the Wellness Center box office pregame; $5 for general admission and $3 for students with their school ID.
 
A big crowd, similar to the boisterous mass that cheered on the Lions (19-10) during their regular season finale this past week, is something that Crockett-Moulton knows her team will feed off of.
 
"The crowd is huge for us," Crockett-Moulton said. "My girls feed off that positive energy. They see and hear all of those people getting behind them…it's easily worth 10 extra points."
 
Ten extra points will come in handy for the Lions. Tuesday's match will be the third meeting between the teams this season – serving as the proverbial "rubber match". Each team won on its home floor this season, with both best-of-five matches being decided by a 3-1 margin.
 
"It's going to come down to hustle," Crockett-Moulton said. "I feel like the teams are evenly matched…they have good hitters, we have good hitters; we have good defense, they have good defense. This game will go the team that hustles and is fearless. The team that's afraid won't win."