MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | The FMU Lions had their four-game conference win streak snapped against Southeastern (25-10, 25-21, 20-25, 28-26) in four sets at the FMU Wellness Center. The Lions entered the contest ranked third in the Sun Conference while the Fire sat in fifth place entering the match.
In the opening set, the Lions came out flat and allowed the Fire to control the tempo. However, FMU responded in set two with better overall play. Lions outside hitter and current Sun Conference Volleyball Attacker of the Week
Caroline Souza produced a game-high 17 kills while teammate and middle blocker
Kimberlie Correa returned from missing a handful of games due to injury and generated nine kills. However, the Fire came up big at the net with continuous blocks and squeezed out a four-point victory in set two.
However, in set three, Florida Memorial trailed 5-3 before coming to life, scoring nine straight points to take a commanding 12-5 lead as
Victoria Fernandez produced key aces during the run. Subsequently, the Fire responded with a 13-6 run and tied the game at 18 apiece, forcing head coach
Jazmine Washington to call a timeout. With her team on the ropes, the Lions responded and finished the set on a 7-2 run to stay alive. Setter
Agustina Busque distributed a game-high 30 assists for Florida Memorial, who continued to compete behind their home crowd.
Set four proved to be an intense battle as both teams traded points down the stretch. Late in the set, FMU led 24-22 and was one point away from forcing a fifth set. However, the fire scored three-straight points to take a 25-24 lead. Southeastern closed the game on a 6-2 run and snatched set four on the road in dramatic fashion.
As a team, FMU produced 44 kills compared to 50 for the Fire. The Lions generated 60 digs overall, while Southeastern finished with 57. C. Souza led FMU with 16 digs while
Mar Danes and
Olivia Dodd finished with 11 and 10 digs respectively.
The Lions continue conference play on Wednesday, October 26 as they travel to Babson Park, Fla. to face Webber International in conference play. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
