Gainesville, FL

Santa Fe College 13-10 (3-7) hosted #15 Daytona State College Falcons 9-9 (5-4) on Wednesday Night. The Saints won in five sets 25-18, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12.

The Falcons went up 6-2 in the first set, but a kill by Kailyn Howard helped the Saints tie the set 6-6. An ace by Kailyn Howard gave the Saints their first lead at 13-12. Another ace by Kailyn Howard and a kill by Mariana Haas extended the lead to 15-12, forcing a timeout by the Falcons. A block by Linnea Preston further extended the lead to 19-12. The Falcons closed the gap to 21-17, but a block by Maria Contreras and kill by Mariana Haas helped the Saints close out the first set 25-18.

A couple of kills by Madison Villanueva kept the second set tied 6-6, but the Falcons took a 10-7 lead with an ace. The Falcons remained in control and won the second set 25-15.

Linnea Preston ended a long rally with a kill as the Saints took a 2-0 lead to start the third set. An ace by Aria Eisel and a couple of kills by Kierston Giesey extended the lead to 6-2. A kill by Mariana Haas extended the lead to 9-3 and forced a timeout for the Falcons. The Falcons went on an 8-1 run to take the lead 11-10. An ace by Maria Contreras gave the Saints the lead 12-11, and a kill by Kierston Giesey extended the lead to 16-12. The Falcons fought back to cut the deficit to 23-22, but a kill by Kailyn Howard ended the set 25-22.

The Falcons took a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, and an ace by Lauanna Pino gave the Saints an 8-7 lead. A kill by Maria Contreras extended the lead to 10-7. The Falcons regained the lead 17-16, and a kill by Kailyn Howard gave the Saints the lead 21-20. The Falcons took the fourth set 25-23.

The Saints took a 5-2 lead in the fifth set, but the Falcons tied the set 10-10. The Saints regained the lead 11-10 with a kill by Linnea Preston, and the Saints won 15-12 with a kill by Mariana Haas.

The Saints improve to 14-10 (4-7) and will host #16 Eastern Florida State College 15-9 (6-5) for Sophomore Day in their final regular season game on Saturday, October 26^th at 2:00PM EDT.

Article By: Bryan Denton