The Seahawks volleyball team split the opening day of the Hyatt Place Labor Day Tournament on Friday afternoon. Keiser swept Calumet 3-0 and fell to Florida College 3-2 in the final match of the night.

Game 1 – vs. Calumet
Set One:
Nicole Papineau served the Seahawks to a quick 5-0 lead, and stretched the advantage to 9-2. With the score 17-8, Keiser closed out the set on an 8-1 run winning 25-9.
Set Two:
Calumet led 7-3 when Keiser scored the next three points cutting the deficit to 7-6. The Wave went ahead 9-7 but a 5-0 run with a pair of kills by Nikki McKown and Megan Minke gave the Seahawks their first lead of 12-9. Calumet came back tying the match at 14-14 but Keiser retook a 16-14 lead. The Wave again tied it at 20-20 but two service aces by Veera Hietala and a kill by Minke made it 23-20 Keiser and a 25-23 victory.
Set Three:
Trailing 8-7, Keiser used a 4-1 push taking their first lead since the beginning of the match at 12-9. Calumet closed to within at 18-17, when a kill by Chantelle Zamora started a 4-0 run capped by a service ace by Papienau pushing the lead to 22-17. The Seahawks went on to win 25-18.
Offense/Defense
McKown led the way with ten kills, while Minke had five aces and two blocks. Papineau passed for 30 assists and Morgan with ten digs.

Game 2 – vs. Florida College
Set One:
Florida College took their largest lead at 5-3, but a service error and Gida Victor kill tied the match at 5-5. Both teams traded points when the Seahawks used a 4-0 run taking a 10-7 advantage. However, the Falcons answered knotting it at 10-10 but Keiser responded with a 3-0 run retaking a 13-10 lead. After back and forth action, a Victor kill sparked a 5-1 run to win 25-16.
Set Two:
The Falcons led 11-7, when a Zamora kill started a 4-0 run capped by a Leff ace tying it at 11-11. Two ties and two lead changes later, Florida College pushed out a 22-15 lead and held on for a 25-18 win tying the game at 1-1.
Set Three:
Keiser jumped out to a 7-2 lead and held on to the lead until Florida College tied it at 16-16. Both teams traded points when a Victor kill started and ended a 4-0 run retaking a 21-17 advantage. However, the Falcons matched the 4-0 run tying it at 21-21 and went on to win 25-21 putting Keiser in a must win fourth set.
Set Four:
The Seahawks started fast taking a 5-0 lead and led 6-3 when they used a 5-0 run extending out to an 11-3 advantage. Keiser took their largest lead of 17-6 but Florida College fought back cutting the deficit to 17-10. The Falcons continued chipping away getting to within 24-23 but a Minke kill secured the set win at 25-23.
Set Five:
After falling behind 3-1, two kills by McKown and an error gave the Seahawks a 4-3 lead.  Florida College came right back regaining an 8-5 lead but a Zamora and McKown kill cut it to 8-7. However, the Falcons pulled away down the stretch winning 15-10.

Offense/Defense:
 McKown led the way with 15 kills, 16 digs, and one service ace. Minke had eight blocks, while Papineau had 44 assists.

Coming Up:
Keiser moves to 6-2 overall after the split and return to the court tomorrow for a pair of matches. The Seahawks battle Tennessee Wesleyan at 2:00 and Loyola at 6:00 p.m.