LAKELAND, Fla. – With a trip to the Sun Conference Championship on the line on Thursday evening, the second-seeded St. Thomas University Women's Volleyball outlasted third-seeded New College of Florida 3-1 (25-21. 26-24, 22-25, 25-23)
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #8 St. Thomas 3, New College of Florida 1
Record: #8 St. Thomas (21-6), New College of Florida (18-9)
All-Time Series: STU leads 9-0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Fueled by a .571 hitting percentage, the Bobcats countered a match-opening point by New College of Florida with four-straight and kept the lead for the rest of the set.
- Trailing late in the second set 18-16, St. Thomas flipped the lead behind a 3-0 rally before responding to a 3-0 Mighty Banyan run that knotted the score at 24-all with back-to-back points to take a 2-0 overall lead.
- After splitting the initial 36 points of the third set, NCF scored back-to-back points to take a 20-18 lead and kept the advantage for the rest of the frame.
- Finding themselves down 20-16 late in the fourth set, the Bobcats knotted the score behind a 4-0 rally before answering a pair of New College points with four straight to force match point.
NOTEWORTHY:
- All-Sun Conference First Team honoree Raya Mlyakova sparked the Bobcats behind 20 kills on a .450 hitting percentage, adding seven digs and four assisted blocks.
- Alexandra Bruno added 13 kills, five digs and two assisted blocks.
- All-Sun Conference First Team member Payton Bertke dished out 47 assists alongside nine digs and four assisted blocks.
- All-Sun Conference First Team recipient Ana Clara Valentim do Vale boasted six assisted blocks.
- All-Sun Conference Second Team honoree Isabela Aviloff tallied 25 digs.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Bobcats ended the match with 59 kills on a .323 hitting percentage; New College tallied 60 on a .227 clip.
- St. Thomas served three aces while NCF served eight.
- St. Thomas recorded thee solo block and 26 assisted blocks versus one solo and 16 assisted for the Mighty Banyans.
- The Bobcats held a 61-50 advantage in digs.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats go for their fifth-straight Sun Conference Tournament Championship on Friday, Nov. 13 with first serve slated for 5:00 pm.
