(NORTH MIAMI, FLA.) -- The Florida Memorial University women's volleyball team remains undefeated in conference play after defeating Johnson & Wales University, 3-1 on Wednesday, September 18. 

The Lions are now 3-0 in the Sun Conference having defeated St. Thomas, Ave Maria and Johnson & Wales within a week.

In the match against the Wildcats, FMU took the first set 25-18 after fight through six lead changes. JWU registered back-to-back kills to take a 2-0 lead at the start of the game. 

The Lions answered back with simultaneous attacks from sophomore Rachele Mancinelli to tie the game at three. The score was tied nine different times in the first set stopping at 15 before a service error gave the Lions the opportunity to pull away. 

In the second set the game stayed close in the beginning but the final moments went in favor of the Lions who finished 25-23 over the Wildcats. Five lead changes tied the game at nine before FMU went on a 11-3 run.

Hoping the finish the match with a clean sweep, the Lions took a 5-2 lead early in the third set. Trailing 11-17, the Wildcats scored five consecutive points to close the Lions lead. 

Johnson & Wales was able to tie the set at 20, and three straight Florida Memorial errors gave the home team a 23-21 advantage. The game went beyond the 25-point mark with the Wildcats claiming the set 26-24.

Determined to put an end to the game, the Lions came out stronger than ever leading 7-1 to start the fourth set. Multiple kills from freshman Adriana Soto and juniors Ivana Maric, Daphinie Correa and Sammyra Albarran put the Lions over the edge with a 25-9 match-ending victory. 

Soto led the Lions with 12 kills while Mancinelli and Correa each added 11. Correa had no errors and her 11 kills came on 12 attempts. She finished the match with a .917 hitting percentage. Maric and Albarran combined for 17 kills in the win over the Wildcats. The team outscored their opponents in kills 56-35. 

Junior Francheska Rivera led FMU with 28 assists while junior Alanis Santana added 14.  The Lions finished with 18 service aces, seven of which came from Mancinelli who also added five digs. 

Junior Jesennia Bonilla finished with 16 digs and four assists and both teams ended the match with 10 blocks. 

The Lions will hosts a non-conference match Thursday, September 19 against Florida National University at 7 P.M. The game will also honor over 60 student-athletes who have been named to the first-ever AD Honor Roll under Athletics Director Ernest T. Jones. The honor celebrates all student-athletes who finished the last semester with a GPA of 3.0 or above. 

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