LAKE WALES, Fla. – For the first time in over two months Warner University women's volleyball team lost a match. Unfortunately it came in The Sun Conference Tournament Championship game. The top-seeded Lady Royals lost a heartbreaker to third-seeded Southeastern University on Saturday afternoon in the Turner Athletic Center 3-1 (17-25, 21-25, 25-13, 23-25). The loss is the first for the Lady Royals since Sept. 4 and snaps a 15-match winning streak dropping their record to 18-5.
The Fire won the first set 25-17 ending a streak of 20 consecutive sets won by the Lady Royals dating back to Oct. 17.
Adrienne Czaplewski led the Lady Royals with five kills in the opening set.
After dropping the second set 25-21 to fall behind 2-1, the Lady Royals came to life and dominated the third set with 15 kills and a .636 hitting percentage.
Angie Pagan-Perez had five kills in the set to lead the way.
The momentum was short lived however, as Southeastern held on in the teeter-totter fourth set to clinch the match 3-1 and the tournament championship.
As a team the Lady Royals finished with a .248 hitting percentage. Czaplewski led all players with 17 kills in the match. She was also perfect passing the ball in 10 attempts.
Breeanna Navarro had 13 kills and a service ace. Pagan-Perez also had 13 kills and recorded a season-high 22 digs.
Thalia Mendez and
Cat Lind combined for 28 digs as well.
Breighly Bolton had an impressive game with eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage.
The Lady Royals must now await the release of the 2015 NAIA Volleyball National Championship qualifiers on Sunday, Nov. 15. The 36-team field will include 27 automatic berths, eight at-large selections and one host berth for Briar Cliff (Iowa).
Also waiting in the wings for the Lady Royals is a trip to the NCCAA South Region Tournament hosted by Emmanuel College (Ga.) next weekend Nov. 20-21 in Franklin Springs, Ga.
Check back with
www.warnerroyals.com for up to date schedule information.
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