MIAMI GARDENS, FLA.- St. Thomas (9-10) dropped a pound for pound five set bout (25-21, 19-25, 32-30, 27-29, 11-15) against Florida National late Wednesday night.

An amazing match-up was played at the Fernandez Family Center by FNU and STU. Both teams brought thunder and energy with them as rallies would go long and sets would go the distance.

The first set opened up with a Bobcat win. After a battle for sole possession of a lead in the set, STU would fight for an opportunity at taking the first set. With the score at 15-12 in favor of St. Thomas, a 5-4 run would push FNU to call a timeout.

The remaining five points in the set would come off the killer hands of Whitney Battoe and Courtney White as they both earned two kills and three kills respectively to help STU close out set one with a 25-21 win.

In set two, with St. Thomas down early, a quick run was imminent. With the score, 4-7, in favor FNU, STU would erupt for a 6-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. Amongst an error from the Conquistadores, a beautiful kill from Battoe took place in this run. The outside hitter also made her presence known behind the service line, as she recorded two of her three kills in the match in this run. Bobcats' middle blocker Courtney White linked up with teammates Carly Durr and Kimberly Martino to block on two occasions.

This quick run did not elevate the Bobcats to a set victory in the second, 19-25, but it surely set the tone for the rest of match.

Set three brought the most points in any set in this match as the teams would bring this match to the 30's, with a match-high 18 ties.

The Bobcats were down 14-15 at one point in the match and they exploded to force a FNU timeout after a 6-3 run, that included a power block from Carli Batsel. With an intense back and forth between both squads it came down to a 30-30 tie. The crowd cheered on as serving specialist Veronica Gomez prepared to let one fly.  Battoe was set up on two occasions, from Haley Bannister and Martino, as she earned STU's final points in the set with two monstrous kills to close it out 32-30.

Set four brought more of the same as both squads could not settle it in regulation, as the set closed out in win by two clash by a final of 29-27 victory in favor of FNU which forced a fifth set.

The fifth and final set went in favor of Florida National by a final score of 15-11.

Notable numbers on the night came from Battoe (18 kills, three service aces, 22 digs and one block), White (13 kills and six blocks), Durr (13 kill and two blocks) and Martino (43 assists, 22 digs and two blocks).

On the defensive end, Bannister registered a team-high 25 digs and a match-high four service aces.

Next up for the Bobcats is a home match-up against conference opponents Coastal Georgia on Saturday, October 15 at 2 p.m. at the Fernandez Family Center.

STU looks to improve its unbeaten streak in TSC play. Come out and support!