LAKELAND, Fla. – If there was any thought of a letdown, St. Thomas (19-4, 6-1 TSC) showed no signs of a hangover against host Southeastern (12-6, 4-3 TSC).  Having suffered their first conference defeat of the year in their previous outing against Warner, the Bobcats bounced back with a straight-sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) victory over the Fire.  Leading the Bobcats once again was Whitney Battoe, who finished with a game-high 16 kills.

Other contributors included Cheye-Anne Savage, who had one of her best outings of the season with nine kills, a solo block, and two block-assists.  Marisa Markus had a well-rounded game with seven kills, six digs, and two block-assists.  Dana Nowaczyk and Kimberly Martino continued to balance the offense with a combined 37 assists.  Jordan Wiese held up the backline with another impressive 15 digs.
 

A slow start by the Bobcats combined with a hot start by the Fire built an early deficit for St. Thomas.  Down 15-10, the Bobcats would ignite a run to get back in the game.  By the time Nowaczyk connected with Battoe for the kill, the score was suddenly even at 19.  The Bobcats would outscore the Fire 6-3 over the next series of exchanges to capture the first set 25-22.

The second set saw the Bobcats get off to a fast start.  However, they never relented, eventually pulling away with a 25-16 victory in set two.  Set three was more of the same as St. Thomas pulled away early and never looked back.

The Bobcats return to South Florida for a match-up against neighborhood rival Florida Memorial tomorrow night.  The Bobcats defeated the Lions in three sets in each of their previous two meetings this season.  First serve is set for 7 P.M. E.T. in a road match at St. Thomas' Fernandez Family for Leadership.

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