LAKE WALES, Fla. – St. Thomas University Women's Volleyball (5-9, 4-2 TSC) fell in Sun Conference action to Warner University (8-9, 4-2 TSC) in four sets (16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25) on Saturday afternoon.

STU was unable to get much offense generated early in the first set and fell behind WU 11-5 before Coach Skelton used his first timeout of the set. The Royals came out of the timeout and won three of the next four points to further their lead over the Bobcats. St. Thomas was unable to bring the Warner lead to less than eight and dropped the set by a score of 16-25.

The Bobcats responded to their first set defeat by rallying to tie the match at 1-1. St. Thomas opened the set with a 9-5 lead over Warner prior to a Royals timeout. Following the break, the Bobcats claimed eight of the next 10 points to build their largest lead of the match at 17-7. STU held an eight-point lead at 22-14 when WU took three consecutive points to cut the Bobcats lead to just five,

Warner once again shrank the lead of the Bobcats to just a mere two points before STU claimed the set victory at 25-22. Courtney White and Nathaly Alvarez led the offensive charge for the Bobcats in the set, each totaling four kills, White also added a solo block.

St. Thomas sought to take control of the match in the third set, however, they fell behind the Royals 13-9 before calling a timeout. After the timeout, Nathaly Alvarez recorded another kill to cut the lead to just three. Warner responded by winning three consecutive points to create separation over the Bobcats with the score at 10-16. St. Thomas was able to trim the Warner lead following a rally which saw White serve three consecutive times and Warner had three attacking errors. The effort fell short as Warner won the set by a score of 20-25.

STU had their backs against the walls once again, trailing Warner 1-2 in sets and needing back-to-back set victories to win the Sun Conference matchup. Unfortunately, the Bobcats fell just short, losing the set 20-25 and the match in four sets.

Heading into the match, St. Thomas sat in third place in the conference with a 4-1 record, just half a game behind Southeastern for second place. The loss puts STU in a tie for third place (Warner and Coastal Georgia) and two games behind Webber International (6-0).

Bobcat Leaders
Krista Kolbinskie: 11 kills, 11 digs
Nathaly Alvarez: 17 assists, nine kills
Courtney White: three blocks, eight digs


Up next, the Bobcats will travel just five blocks to take on Sun Conference neighbor, Florida Memorial on Tuesday, October 2^nd with the match starting at 7 p.m.