MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The St. Thomas University Volleyball team (2-7, 1-1 TSC) defeated Sun Conference opponent, Johnson & Wales University (4-6, 0-2 TSC) in five sets (19-25, 25-11, 20-25, 25-18 and 15-4) on Wednesday night from the Fernandez Family Center.

In the first set of the match, St. Thomas could not get off of the starting blocks, faltering and dropping the first set by a score of 19-25.

The second set began to give the indication that this match was going to be a back-and-forth affair between the Bobcats and the Wildcats. STU dominated the set from the beginning and found themselves with a sizable 17-6 lead over JWU. The Bobcats leaned on the serves of Courtney White to further extend the lead as well as offense from Krista Kolbinskie, (led team with five kills) to clinch the set victory and tie the matches at 1-1 with a 25-11 victory.

The third set of the match proved to be the closest of the match, the Wildcats claimed the victory and took a 2-1 set lead over the Bobcats with a 25-20 win.

STU came out of the set break on looking to keep the match alive and force the decisive fifth set, as Kolbinskie put the offense on her shoulders, notching another six kills in the set. The Bobcats were able to win the set 25-18. St. Thomas was able to maintain their lead throughout the set, as it was never closer than two points before the Bobcats took control and pulled away to seal the equalizing victory to send the match to the final set of the evening.

The conference home opener went the distance and the further the match went, the more involved the student section became at the FFC. STU used that energy and momentum from the fourth set victory to dominate the fifth and final set, en route to a 15-4 victory to clinch the first conference win of the season for the club.

Leaders for St. Thomas University
Krista Kolbinskie: 17 kills, 20 digs, .375 hit percentage
Nathaly Alvarez: 13 kills, 35 assists, 13 digs, .435 hit percentage
Victoria Philpot: eight kills, four blocks

The victory put an end to a six-game losing streak for St. Thomas and the Bobcats will be back in action on Saturday, September 15^th at 2 p.m. once again from the friendly confines of the Fernandez Center as the team takes on the College of Coastal Georgia in another Sun Conference match-up.

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