JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - Santa Fe volleyball's spring 2021 season came to a close on Saturday, March 27 at the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament. The Saints finished fourth in the State Tournament, and the run was highlighted by a 3-0 win over Daytona State College and a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over No. 20 Indian River State College.

SF Results

3/25 - No. 4 Santa Fe 3, No. 5 Daytona State 0 (32-30, 25-20, 25-18)

3/26 - No. 1 Miami Dade 3, No. 4 Santa Fe 0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-23)

2/27 - No. 4 Santa Fe 3, No. 6 Indian River 2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9)

            No. 3 Polk State 3, No. 4 Santa Fe 2 (25-12, 25-19, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12)

The comeback victory from two sets down against Indian River was just the third in program history, and the first in postseason play. 

The Saints' defense was superb throughout the tournament, averaging 22.6 digs per set. 

Here are some of the additional highlights for the Saints from the tournament, which was hosted by Florida State College at Jacksonville. 

Records Broken

-Kariana Ayala became the program's record holder for both digs in a match (48) and career digs (688). Both of the records were obtained during the Saints win on Saturday morning over the Pioneers.

-Santa Fe's 140 digs as a team in the five-set victory over Indian River set a new program mark for the highest dig total in a match. 

All-Tournament Team 

Samantha Caglianone was selected to the All-Tournament team for her excellent play in the Saints' four matches.

Caglianone led Santa Fe in the kills category in each match. Additionally, she set new career-highs in both kills (17) and digs (18) in the comeback against No. 20 Indian River State College.

For the tournament, the freshman outside hitter from Tampa, Fla. and Plant High School had just seven errors in 175 attempts, totaling 50 kills for a .246 hitting percentage. Caglianone averaged 3.13 kills per set while adding a total of 32 digs and eight blocks (.5 blocks/set).

All-State Honorees

Sophomores Kariana Ayala and Madison Sheffield were awarded plaques and formally recognized for their selections as part of the NJCAA All-Region VIII Team.

 The Cheronis Perspective

Head Coach Nick Cheronis: "This group never quit the entire tournament, but most importantly, they never quit on each other. There was a belief until the very last ball that we were going to win."

"In my entire career, I have never had a group this unselfish. It was really a fun ride."

Photo Gallery

You can view more photos of the Saints' in tournament action at the link below, courtesy of the FCSAA. 

Tournament Photo Gallery