AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (1-0) vs. St. Thomas University Bobcats (0-1)
When: September 9, 2020
Where: Miami Gardens Fla., Fernandez Family Center
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Last Meeting: Nov. 12, 2019, Won 3-2
Live Stream Video & Stats: 
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/stu/ | Video
https://stubobcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary | Stats
 
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – There's an idiom that says "there's strength in numbers" – which typically speaks to the advantage of having more opposed to less.
 
But Florida Memorial University's volleyball team seems to be turning that idiom on its head.
 
The Lions, who completely dismantled Southeastern University in their season-opening match this past weekend with just nine players available, will look to do the same thing Wednesday when they travel to face neighborhood and Sun Conference rival St. Thomas University at 7 p.m. in St. Thomas' Fernandez Family Center.
 
FMU (1-0, 1-0 Sun Conference), the defending Sun Conference champions, will also be looking to knockoff the Bobcats on their home floor for the first time in nearly 12 years Wednesday night.
 
Having a shorthanded roster didn't seem like much of a big deal for Florida Memorial and head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton this past weekend, especially with the performance of a handful of seniors.
 
Senior Sammyra Albarran "talked the talk and walked the walk", recording 13 kills and five service aces – both game-highs – while playing with a swagger and energy that buoyed the Lions. While fellow seniors Francheska Rivera notched a game-high 16 assists and Keisha Roldan Santana game-high 14 digs.
 
While St. Thomas University dropped its season-opening match (a 3-1 loss against College of Coastal Georgia this past Saturday), it perennially has been a solid program and owns the overall series advantage against FMU.
 
The Bobcats are playing their first season under first-year coach Whitney Battoe. Battoe did inherit a roster stocked with a handful of talented returners – namely seniors Tyran Chenault and Arianna Bolinger. Chenault was an All-Sun Conference First Team performer this past season while Bollinger was a Second Team selection.
 
To earn a victory Wednesday, Florida Memorial will need to play with patience, smarts, and aggressiveness – as Crockett-Moulton said they did against Southeastern. But the Lions will also be able to draw on another intangible factor – the confidence of winning with a shorthanded roster this past weekend along with the boost from having rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat this St. Thomas team in last year's Sun Conference tournament.