Game Information
Score: Keiser 3, #21 St. Thomas 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-12)
Records: Keiser (10-1), St. Thomas (12-2)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
St. Thomas Starters: C. McCluskey, K. Griffin, C. White, P. Ertty, W. Battoe, S. Bawek; libero – H. Bannister
Keiser Starters: N. McKown, C. Zamora, V. Hietala, N. Papineau, S. Thompson, M. Minke; libero – M. Leff
 
Highlights
Keiser Volleyball was looking for a statement win on Wednesday night against No. 21 St. Thomas and they came thru. The Seahawks swept the Bobcats, 3-0, the same Bobcat team which defeated No. 2 Missouri Baptist earlier in the season. Keiser was backed up by a raucous crowd in the SLC and were led by Samantha Thompson with 13 kills and Veera Hietala's 11 kills. Morgan Leff led the squad in digs with 15, while Nikki McKown and Chantelle Zamora each recorded 10 digs of their own. Nicole Papineau finished the game with 35 assists as Keiser outhit St. Thomas, .366-.079.
 
How it Happened
Set One:
Keiser dominated the first set in the White Out contest, taking the early lead and never letting up. The Seahawks began the opening set on a 5-1 run that was countered by a 4-1 St. Thomas run to cut the Keiser lead to just one. The Seahawks then retaliated with a 7-1 run of their own to stretch the Keiser lead to a comfortable seven points. The two squads traded the next 10 points with Keiser maintaining its seven-point advantage. The Seahawks closed out the frame on a 7-4 run to take the first set, 25-15.
 
Set Two:
Roles were reversed to begin the second set as it would be the Bobcats who took the early 5-1 lead and the Seahawks retaliated with a 4-1 run to cut the St. Thomas lead to just one. Keiser would not let St. Thomas run away with the set, keeping close tallies with the Bobcats. The Seahawks never trailed by more than four points, tying the frame late at 17 apiece before taking their first lead at 18-17. Keiser briefly relinquished the lead before going on a 4-1 run to take a 22-20 advantage, forcing a St. Thomas timeout. The timeout did not slow down the host as Keiser maintained its advantage and knocked off the Bobcats 25-22 in the second set.
 
Set Three:
The Seahawks completed the sweep of the Bobcats in the third set in dominating fashion. Keiser opened up a 4-2 advantage early in the third set, aiming to close the door on St. Thomas. The Seahawks held the two point advantage thru the first 10 points of the set, leading the Bobcats, 6-4. Following the next point, McKown notched a crucial ace and Zamora smashed home a kill to give Keiser a 9-4 advantage and forced the Bobcats to use a timeout. Following the timeout, the Seahawks held momentum and outscored St. Thomas 8-6 down the stretch to increase their lead to 17-10 and force another Bobcat timeout. Keiser proved too much for St. Thomas as the Seahawks ran away with the third set to win 25-12.
 
Team Leaders:
Keiser
Kills: 13 – Samantha Thompson
Assists: 35 – Nicole Papineau
Digs: 15 – Morgan Leff
 
St. Thomas
Kills: 8 – Kadeeja Griffin
Assists: 18 – Priscila Ertty
Digs: 16 – Haley Bannister
 
Up Next
Keiser will return to play on Monday at 7 p.m. when the Seahawks travel to Hialeah, Fla., for a nonconference tilt against Florida National. Monday's contest will be the first of three against the Conquistadors this season.