Florida Memorial University Athletics issued the following announcement on Oct. 27.
Already down many of its reserves, Florida Memorial University saw its senior libero Keisha Santana Roldan become a game-time scratch due to a lower extremity injury and lost
junior outside hitter Azmabeth Infante to a lower extremity injury during the third set and just couldn't overcome the battle of attrition – dropping Wednesday match against visiting
Webber International University 3-2 (27-29, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 10-15) in the FMU Wellness Center.
In what became the Lions' first five-set match of the season, FMU fell behind 11-7 in the fifth – forcing head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton to call a timeout. Following the timeout,
the Lions scored three straight points to pull within one and force the Warriors to call a timeout of their own. After WIU's timeout, Florida Memorial's ensuing serve – by Sammyra
Albarran – appeared to paint the end line but officials called it out and awarded a point to Webber International.
That call took the proverbial wind out of the FMU's sails and swung the momentum back to the Warriors, who scored four straight points to take the decisive set.
It also did not help that the Lions committed 46 errors (26 hitting errors and 20 service errors) Wednesday – the worst mark of the season.
Wednesday's loss came with a tangible set of postseason implications for Florida Memorial (9-7, 8-4 The Sun Conference). Dropping their fourth conference game of the season,
the Lions fell out of second place and into third place; a significant detail because finishing in the top two in the conference standings comes with a first-round bye in the Sun
Conference Championship Tournament. Seeds three through six will play in the first round of the tourney.
However, FMU still controls a bit of its own destiny in terms of getting back into the No. 2 spot or even the No. 1 spot. The Lions remaining two remaining games are against the
two teams currently ahead of them in the standings – St. Thomas University (No. 1) and Ave Maria University (No. 2). If Florida Memorial wins its final two games and both St.
Thomas and Ave Maria go winless during their final three games, FMU would earn the conference's regular season championship. However, if the Bobcats win at least one of its
final three, they will clinch a top-two finish.
Seedings aside, FMU wasn't able to put together enough positive stretches to earn a victory Wednesday. Playing in place of the injured Roldan was junior Mar Danes, who was
making her healthy return to the Lions' lineup.
Without Roldan, who was named The Sun Conference's Defender of the Week each of the past two weeks, FMU's defense was a bit off for much of the night. 11 different players
recorded digs, led by Biancaliz Cruz's 13.
Offensively, it was Daphinie Correa who had the best night for the Lions. The 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker racked up a personal season-high 18 kills. Her sister, Kimberlie Correa
had a solid night as well, finishing with 9 kills and 2 blocks.
The teams alternated wins in the first two sets, with Webber (11-13, 2-9) taking the first and the third and the Lions winning the second and putting on a dominant performance in
the fourth. FMU turned a 8-7 lead into a 17-10 lead in the fourth set – thanks to some powerful hits by Taira Cottingham and heady plays by Adriana Soto – and opened up as large
as a nine-point lead before cruising to the 25-17 win.
Playing five sets with a shorthanded roster seemed to wear on FMU. And a week's respite couldn't have come at a better time for Crockett-Moulton's squad, as they hope the extra
days off will allow for Roldan to return while the team awaits the status of Infante.
Original source can be found here.
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