MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. – St. Thomas University Volleyball team (10-12, 9-5 TSC) defeated crosstown rival, Florida Memorial University (10-12, 3-9 TSC) in straight sets (25-13, 25-22, 25-20) on Wednesday night from the Fernandez Family Center.

STU took a commanding lead from the start of the first set, building a 13-4 lead, as Courtney White recorded two consecutive service aces. The Bobcats built upon their lead, courtesy of a Victoria Philpot kill to force FMU to burn the first timeout of the set. St. Thomas extended their lead to a season-high of 12 –points, following a service ace by Sophia Deaguero. STU cruised following the Deaguero ace, dominating the set and winning by a score of 25-13.

The Bobcats were able to maintain their momentum following the break, claiming a 6-4 lead over the Lions following an Arianna Bolinger kill. St. Thomas was able to build upon their lead and extend it to a four-point cushion following a FMU error to have the score at 14-10. The four-point spread was the largest of the set, but not enough to keep FMU from rallying to cut the lead down to just one to force Coach Skelton to burn his timeout. The timeout gave the Bobcats a needed break, as following the call, STU rallied for three-consecutive kills from three different players: Carli Batsel, Krista Kolbinskie and Bolinger; to bring the lead to 18-14 and give STU another four-point lead. St. Thomas maintained their controlling presence throughout the remainder of the set, finishing it off with a 25-22 victory.

Leading the match 2-0, St. Thomas looked to finish off the series sweep in a "revenge game" against Florida Memorial. STU was able to come out to a 7-2 lead over FMU early in the set, following back-to-back Kolbinskie service aces. The Bobcats established a 10-point lead, after Nathaly Alvarez recorded a kill, to put themselves up 14-4. St. Thomas capitalized off several Florida Memorial errors to establish a commanding nine-point lead. FMU clawed their way back into the match and cut the STU lead to just four with two consecutive service aces before Coach Skelton used another timeout. Following the break, Kolbinskie re-established STU momentum with a kill, and St. Thomas finished the sweep with a block assist by Philpot and Sofia Adorno.

Bobcat Leaders
Krista Kolbinskie: 12 kills/ 16 digs
Nathaly Alvarez/ Lucia Alvarez: 12 assists
Victoria Philpot (MVP): nine kills/ five blocks

St. Thomas is now riding a season-high, five-game winning streak, and stays alive in the race to the Sun Conference tournament.

The Bobcats will travel to Babson Park to take on Webber International University on Saturday, October 27^th, with the match-up set to begin at 2 p.m.

-STU-