No. 15 Seward County falls short to No. 1 Florida Southwestern

LIBERAL, Kan. - Seward County Community College battles with the No. 1 team in the NJCAA from Florida Southwestern but falls short 3-1. The Lady Saints won the first set 25-20 but fell in the next three sets 25-8, 25-20, and 31-29. The Lady Saints will be back in action at 5 PM CT against No. 9 Utah State Eastern. 

To start the match, the Lady Saints came out with energy and power as they took an early lead of 7-4 over Florida Southwestern in the 1st set. With the momentum, Seward County propelled themselves to a 17-10 advantage after a 10-6 run. The Bucs stormed back with an 8-2 spurt to cut the Lady Saints' lead down 19-18, forcing a Seward County timeout. After the timeout, Seward County finished the set on a 6-2 run to take the set 25-20.

This was only the second set that the Bucs have lost all season, and they returned with a vengeance in the second set. Seward County called a timeout as Florida Southwestern had a 12-4 second set advantage over the Lady Saints. The Bucs' run continued as they went on a 10-4 run to lead the Lady Saints 22-8. Seward County and Florida Southwestern were tied at a set a piece after a Bucs second set victory, 25-8.

In the third set, the Bucs continued to roll as they led 9-3 over Seward county early and went down 16-8 after exchanging points. Once again, Seward County could not climb out of the deficit as Florida Southwestern won the third set 25-15 to take a 2-1 match lead. 

The Lady Saints looked to even up the match and responded with three straight points to start the fourth set and forced the Bucs into a timeout. Seward County continued to fight against the No. 1 team and led 13-7 after a 7-1 run with attacks from the middle hitters. The Lady Saints continued to lead, but the Bucs fought back as Seward County's lead dwindled to 20-16 late in the fourth set. 

The match was tied at 24-24, with the next points the most important of the match. The Lady Saints continued to battle and had it tied at 29, but the Bucs would win the set, 31-29, and took the match 3-1.

Ana Cambraia led the Lady Saints with 13 kills and a .308 hitting percentage with four block assists, and Seyun Park added 10 kills. Jessica Sales and Logan Dodge both provided two service aces a piece. 

Seward County falls to 12-3 on the year and will be back in action this afternoon at 5 PM CT against No. 9 Utah State Eastern.