MIAMI GARDENS, FLA.- No. 1 seed St. Thomas (19-11) dominated no. 4 seed Coastal Georgia (11-14) in straight sets (25-14, 25-19, 25-17) in the semifinals of The Sun Conference Championship tournament held Friday afternoon at the Fernandez Family Center.
 
With the win, the Bobcats advances to The Sun Conference Championship finals to be held Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. the winner of the Webber International and Southeastern match up in the second semifinals.
 
Host St. Thomas, the 2017 regular-season champions, has now reached the conference finals for the second year in a row and Saturday will be looking to earn the school's first Sun Conference tournament championship and earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.  STU last appeared in the NAIA  National Championship tournament in 2003.  Friday's semifinal match went in favor of STU from beginning to end as all cylinders were firing.
 
In the first set, the Bobcats opened with a strong statement, showing readiness for the big stage. The only time Coastal led in the first set was the first point of the set, as the Mariners would not pick up another lead.
 
The first set also had Sun Conference Player of the Year Whitney Battoe earn her 400th kill on the season. She scored her kill within a run of six straight points as St. Thomas pushed a lead to 17-9. The final score in the first went in favor of STU, 25-14.
 
Quickly, the second set had the Bobcats and the Mariners trade blows, as each score by one team was answered with one from the other. STU found itself down 13-16 in the set, as a run brewed. After five straight points, CCG was forced to call a timeout. After this, the Bobcats wouldn't look back or lose the lead as the final score read 25-19 after a 12-3 scoring run that could not be stopped. The lead was now in favor of the home squad, 2-0.
 
Unstoppable is the word to describe the third and final set as STU blew up with an opening run of 9-3, which pushed Coastal to burn a timeout.  Two monster kills from Battoe and First-Team All-Conference performer Carly Durr electrified the home crowd, while First-Team All-Conference setter Kimberly Martino earned two of her match-high 35 assists.
 
Exciting volleyball in the first match of The Sun Conference Semifinals set the stage for the rest of the tournament as St. Thomas looks to go for the gold.
 
Early leads proved to be the decision maker for the Bobcats as a straight set victory over the Mariners propelled the squad to the conference finals.
 
Notable numbers on the day came from outside hitter Durr with 11 kills, while her partner in crime Battoe closed out her day with nine kills, 10 digs and two blocks.  Martino earned a game-high 35 assists, three kills, two service aces and seven digs as Haley Bannister dug on 14 point-saving occasions.
 
Next up for St. Thomas is The Sun Conference Finals match on Saturday, November 11 at 2 p.m. at the Fernandez Family Center.
 
Come out and support as the Bobcats look to win to the championship!