FMU Stays Undefeated At Home, Tops Southeastern 3-1

Box Score MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – In the midst of its recent winning streak, Florida Memorial University has looked like a team far beyond its preseason No. 5 ranking within The Sun Conference.

The Lions once again proved the voters undersold their abilities as they earned a 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22) victory over visiting Southeastern University Saturday afternoon – remaining unbeaten at home this season and extending its winning streak to five straight wins.

Florida Memorial (5-3, 4-0 The Sun Conference) also earned its second straight victory over the Fire in the all-time series between the programs.

Saturday's victory had a bit of a bittersweet element to it, though.

Prior to the game, FMU senior middle blocker Daphinie Correa sustained an undisclosed injury during pregame warmups and was unavailable for the match. However, Lions head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton did have an indirect replacement as graduate transfer outside hitter Taira Cottingham made her season debut Saturday.

The 6-foot-1 Cottingham, who transferred in from NCAA Division-I Alabama State University, immediately made her presence felt – using her athleticism to leap above the Fire's blockers and power down multiple shots for kills.

Cottingham's contributions complimented FMU's offensive stalwarts Sammyra Albarran and Biancaliz Cruz, who once again led Florida Memorial in kills Saturday.

After the teams traded the first two sets – with FMU winning the first set 25-19 then Southeastern taking the second with a mirrored score of 19-25 – Florida Memorial jumped out to a 14-8 lead and was able to manufacture a 25-21 win in the third thanks to a handful of Southeastern (11-8, 1-2) attacking errors along with some timely hits by Azmabeth Infante and blocks by Kimberlie Correa.

FMU, which will travel to Webber International University this coming Wednesday (Sept. 29), remained neck-and-neck with SEU through the first part of the fourth set and clung to an 18-17 lead late. The Lions went on a 4-2 spurt to take a 22-19 lead before settling into the final 25-22 margin.

Follow Florida Memorial University Athletics on social media
Instagram: @GoFMULions/@FMULionsVolleyball | Twitter: @GoFMULions | YouTube: Official FMU Lions

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#7 Biancaliz Cruz: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#24 Azmabeth Infante: RS/OH/MB; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Daphinie Correa: MB; 6' 1"; Senior

#17 Sammyra Albarran: RS/OH; 5' 8"; Graduate Student

#6 Kimberlie Correa: MB; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#7 Biancaliz Cruz
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#24 Azmabeth Infante
: 6' 0"; Junior
: RS/OH/MB

#1 Daphinie Correa
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MB

#17 Sammyra Albarran
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student
: RS/OH

#6 Kimberlie Correa
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MB

Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned