Game Information
Score: Keiser 1, Warner 3 (20-25, 20-25, 25-14, 21-25)
Records: Keiser (9-1), Warner (5-2)
Location: Turner Athletic Center, Lake Wales, Fla.
Warner Starters: B. Navarro, A. Pagan-Perez, N. Wittmer, R. Lee, A. Czaplewski, I. Saint-Clair; libero – T. Mendez
Keiser Starters: N. McKown, C. Zamora, V. Hietala, N. Papineau, S. Thompson, M. Minke; libero – M. Leff
 
Highlights
Keiser volleyball dropped its first match of the season today, losing in its Sun Conference opener to Warner University by the final score of 3-1. The Seahawks held their own in each of the four sets, losing by a combined 14 points in the first, second and fourth set. Warner was able to use late scoring runs in all three sets that the Royals claimed, aiding the host team to the 3-1 advantage. Nikki McKown and Chantelle Zamora combined for 24 kills while Zamora recorded a team-best 18 digs.
 
How it Happened
Set One:
Keiser fell in the first set, 25-20, despite maintaining the lead late in the first set. The Seahawks rattled off seven consecutive points after yielding the set's first two to the Royals. During the 7-0 spurt, Keiser was anchored by kills from McKown and Hietala. The Seahawks maintained the lead midway through the first set, reaching a set-high six point margin when Keiser took the 14-8 advantage. However, Warner rebounded and claimed seven of the next nine points to trim the Seahawk lead to just one, forcing head coach Chris Taylor to use a timeout. Keiser held the 20-18 lead until Warner tallied seven unanswered points to claim the early 1-0 advantage.
 
Set Two:
Warner claimed the second set in similar fashion to the first, concluding a late spurt to take the 25-20 victory. The Royals jumped out to a 5-0 lead and maintained the advantage for much of the set. The Seahawks took their first lead at 18-17 as the two teams battled back-and-forth. Once the contest was square at 19 apiece, the Royals finished the set on a 6-1 run to move to within one of knocking off the visiting Seahawks.
 
Set Three:
The Seahawks cruised to an 11-point victory in the third set, forcing a guaranteed fourth set. Keiser began the second set with a 9-2 Seahawk lead, setting the pace early in the third frame and forcing a Warner timeout. The Royals trimmed the Keiser lead to three at 11-8 following a 6-2 Warner run. Keiser stretched the lead to nine points following a six-point unanswered spurt of their own to take a commanding 17-8 advantage. The Seahawks proved too much for the Royals in the closing stretch, winning the third set by the final score of 25-14.
 
Set Four:
The two squads began the fourth set by trading the first 10 points, evening the set at five apiece. Warner jumped ahead to a four-point advantage after winning seven of the next 10 points, taking the 12-8 advantage. Keiser was able to trim the Royals' lead to just two after outscoring the host team, 6-4, over the next 10 points. The Seahawks trimmed the Warner lead to one before the Royals jumped ahead to another three-point lead, forcing a Keiser timeout. The Seahawks and Royals battled back-and-forth down the closing stretch before Warner won the nail-biting fourth set, 25-21.
 
Team Leaders:
Keiser
Kills: 13 – Nikki McKown
Assists: 34 – Nicole Papineau
Digs: 18 – Chantelle Zamora
 
Warner
Kills: 18 – Adrienne Czaplewski
Assists: 34 – Kiara Rivera-Escuerd
Digs: 16 – Angie Pagan-Perez
 
Up Next
Keiser will return to action on Wednesday with a marquee matchup against conference opponent St. Thomas at 7 p.m. at the Student Life Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.