Photo Courtesy of Roy Allen (FSW)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Santa Fe College Volleyball traveled to No. 1 Florida Southwestern for the second-consecutive Saturday matchup between the two sides, and although the Saints battled to the end, the Bucs once again came away with a 3-0 victory.

FSW extended their winning streak to a program-record 11 games, while Santa Fe fell to an eighth-consecutive loss.

Set 1 – FSW 25, SF 17

The Saints started off well against the nation's top-ranked team and led 9-8 after a 4-0 run, capped off by a kill from Nicole DePaula that forced an FSW timeout.

That lead would be SF's last of the set, however, and the Bucs used a 12-3 run to grab firm control.

Kassidy Bolling and the Saints had a few exceptional plays at the net to pull SF a little closer late, but FSW went ahead 1-0 with a kill off the SF block attempt.

Set 2 – FSW 25, SF 13

SF stayed close at the start of the second set and trailed just 9-8 after a block from DePaula and Elizabeth Klein.

A 12-1 run from the Bucs brought the score to 21-9, however, and the Saints fell into the 0-2 hole.

Set 3 – FSW 25, SF 23

Set 3 looked like it was on its way to a rout in favor of FSW, who jumped ahead 9-3 to force an SF timeout.

Similarly to Set 3 against Hillsborough on Thursday, the Saints faced the large deficit and elevated their play to swiftly turn the momentum.

Attacks started to find the floor, and SF drew even for the first time at 14-14 on another Bolling kill and proceeded to take a 15-14 lead on the ensuing point.

The rest of the set was neck-and-neck, with neither side ever separating by more than two points. The Saints led 22-21 when Cali Conner earned a kill, but FSW won the next two.

After Elizabeth Klein had a kill to tie it up, FSW was able to close the match out with back-to-back kills, including a long rally on match point.

Key Saints' Statistics

The Saints found a few things that bode well for future matches to come and were particularly effective at the net in the blocking category, finishing with 12 total, just three off their season-high mark.

In the third set, SF posted a .300 hitting percentage and tallied 12 kills to just three errors.

Bolling provided energy and playmaking throughout, finishing with a career-high eight blocks to go along with a team-high four kills. Abbey James (four kills, four blocks) and Klein (three kills, four blocks) contributed well in the front row.

Emily Loose had 19 assists, and Katelyn Kelso led the Saints defensively with nine digs.

Up Next

Santa Fe (2-10, 1-8 Suncoast) will play in their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. The Saints will be hosting the St. Johns River State College Vikings.