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Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

FMU player
1
Keiser University KU 17-22, 7-7 TSC
3
Winner Florida Memorial FMU21 10-9, 8-6 TSC
Keiser University KU
17-22, 7-7 TSC
1
Final
3
Florida Memorial FMU21
10-9, 8-6 TSC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Keiser University KU 19 25 25 15 (1)
Florida Memorial FMU21 25 23 27 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

Shorthanded FMU Knocks Out Keiser, Advances To TSC Tourney Semifinals

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Shorthanded and looking to refocus after a tumultuous week, Florida Memorial University put together one of its most inspiring performances of the season, riding a strong outing from junior Adriana Soto to a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-15) win over visiting Keiser University Tuesday night in the opening round of The Sun Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament.
 
FMU, the tournament's No. 3 seed, advances to the semifinal round – where it will face Ave Maria University Friday. The semifinal matches and the championship match will be hosted by TSC Regular Season Conference Champion St. Thomas University.
 
Soto picked the perfect night to turn in her best statistical performance of the season. The Guaynabo, Puerto Rico native recorded a game-high and career-best 20 kills against the Seahawks Tuesday night while also racking up 16 digs and 3 assists.
 
Florida Memorial, which hosted its final game of the 2021 season Tuesday night, also got strong performances from its typical stalwarts – junior Biancaliz Cruz and senior Sammyra Albarran. Cruz finished with 18 kills and 7 digs while Albarran, who was celebrating a birthday Tuesday, had 6 kills, 5 digs, and 4 service aces.
 
Junior middle blocker Kimberlie Correa, the only true middle blocker available in the Lions' lineup Tuesday, contributed 12 kills and 4 blocks.
 
Alanis Santana finished with a game-high 32 assists while Maria Rodriguez stepped up – playing primarily as a middle blocker Tuesday instead of her normal position as an outside hitter – and contributed a game-high 5 blocks along with 3 kills.
 
Tuesday first set began with the teams see-sawing back and forth, until they knotted at 17. That's when the Lions (10-9, 9-6 The Sun Conference) were able to separate from Keiser, finishing the game on a 8-2 run thanks to a handful of errors by the Seahawks and kills by Correa and Cruz to take the first set 25-19.
 
KU took what was another close tilt in the second set, being gifted the final two points of the set on a pair of Lions errors to win 25-23 after being tied at 23.
 
FMU began to flex it muscle in the third set, turning an 8-8 tie into a 15-9 lead thanks to Soto and Albarran. Keiser did eat away at the Lions' cushion and fought back to ultimately tie the game at 24 after. The Seahawks took a 25-24 advantage on Florida Memorial, but the Lions scored three straight points to take the extended set 27-25.
 
The fourth set completely belonged to Florida Memorial, as it appeared KU – which was voted as the preseason No. 1 team in the Sun Conference – began to buckle under the reality of its season ending. FMU jumped out to a 7-1 lead, which became a 10-3 lead, and ultimately a 20-11 lead before it cruised to the final 25-15 margin and into the semifinals.
 
Lions third-year head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton and her team showed the character and toughness only a team with two conference championships (an indoor conference title in 2019 and a beach volleyball conference title in 2021) under its belt could show.
 
Follow Florida Memorial University Athletics on social media
Instagram: @GoFMULions/@FMULionsVolleyball | Twitter: @GoFMULions | YouTube: Official FMU Lions
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