BRADENTON, Fla. – Santa Fe College Volleyball suffered a tenth-consecutive defeat on Thursday evening, dropping a Suncoast Conference tilt at the State College of Florida, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20.

It was the first victory of the season for the Manatees (1-11, 1-9 Suncoast), who now sit tied with SF in the conference standings. The two sides split the season series, with SF winning 3-1 at home on Aug. 31.

Set 1 – SCF 25, SF 22

The two sides remained within two points of each other in the opening set all the way until the score found its way to 20-19 in favor of the hosts.

SCF executed more effectively in the final points. The Manatees pulled away and took advantage of a Saints service error to go ahead 1-0.

Set 2 – SCF 25, SF 18

Set 2 was tied at five points apiece when the Manatees went on a 9-2 run, opening up a seven-point lead, 14-7.

The deficit was still seven when the Saints rattled off four unanswered points to draw to within three, 16-13. The run was capped off by an ace from Cydnee Eubanks, forcing an SCF timeout.

The timeout worked for the Manatees as they proceeded to account for the match's next five points and preserved the lead to jump ahead 2-0 on an ace.

Set 3 – SCF 25, SF 20

The Saints started off well and went ahead 10-5, but the Manatees quickly tied it at 10-10.

Later, the Saints held a 16-13 lead, but SCF drew even once again.

With the match tied at 19-19 after a kill from Kassidy Bolling, five consecutive points from the Manatees earned a match point. Although the Saints were able to fight off one, SCF got the final point it needed to secure their season-opening win at the Hal Chasey Gymnasium.

Key Saints' Statistics

Nicole DePaula led the way with seven kills for the Saints' attack.

The Cheronis Perspective

"Being short-handed really came into play tonight. We just couldn't match up physically."

Up Next

Santa Fe (2-12, 1-9 Suncoast) will be at No. 5 Miami Dade on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m.