MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – An already-shorthanded FMU "nine-strong" team found itself down to eight available players Saturday and it couldn't overcome visiting Ave Maria University, falling in a three-set sweep 21-25, 12-25, 18-25.
The Lions (2-1, 2-1 Sun Conference) had won its previous two matches in three-game sweeps with only nine players, but played Saturday without sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter
Azmabeth Infante – who sat out with an upper extremity injury.
Not having the 6-foot Infante – the team's tallest player and only listed middle blocker on the roster – showed itself in the worst way possible for the Lions. Ave Maria had 14 blocks – compared to just two for FMU – and it put Florida Memorial at a tactical disadvantage.
"It really came down to personnel," FMU head coach
Marrita Crockett-Moulton said. "Not having Azmabeth in the middle really hurt us. Those first two games, teams had to stay on her, so it opened up things for our outside hitters. With her not in there, Ave [Maria] was able to sit on our outside hitters and it forced us to play out of position on just a day's notice."
"No excuses, because our ladies played with heart and they fought, but fatigue definitely set it. We played our third match in a week's time with nine, it caught up with us today," Crockett-Moulton added.
Lions senior
Sammyra Albarran once again led the team in kills with 11, but the Gyrenes (1-1, 1-1) were able to accumulate 52 digs – compered to FMU's 39 – and Ave Maria's Katie Grose single-handedly tallied more assists (34) than Florida Memorial had as a team (27).
Florida Memorial, which only held the lead – one-point each time – at four different times throughout the three sets Saturday, will get a bit of a reprieve this coming week. Because their September 16th scheduled match (against Florida National University) got canceled, the Lions won't take the floor again until next Saturday (Sept. 19) when it travels to Webber International University.
"It's a much-needed rest for us and we're hoping that we'll have Azmabeth and a few more players available," Crockett-Moulton said.
