BRADENTON, Fla. - No. 23 New College of Florida Volleyball fell 3-0 to No. 15 Southeastern University on Wednesday afternoon at Bradenton Christian School in the first ranked-versus-ranked Sun Conference matchup since 2002.
The historic meeting marked another milestone for the Mighty Banyans, who entered the NAIA Top 25 for the first time in program history last week. Southeastern prevailed 25-19, 25-21, 25-14.
NCF moved to 14-4 overall and 6-3 in Sun Conference play with the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes as the nationally ranked conference opponents traded momentum. Southeastern broke away late to secure a 25-19 victory.
NCF challenged the Fire throughout another tightly contested second set, which included 10 ties and four lead changes. Southeastern held off the Mighty Banyans for a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead.
The Fire carried the momentum into the third set and completed the sweep with a 25-14 victory.
Wiktoria Telecka led NCF with 13 kills while hitting .303. She added a service ace and an assisted block to finish with a team-high 14.5 points.
Madison Goin added seven kills, while freshman Stephanie Harrison contributed five. Soraya Nacero recorded four kills, four service aces and seven digs.
Khalia Horta led the Mighty Banyans with 14 digs while adding a kill and a service ace. Janine Vales Luciano collected 11 digs.
Addison Phillippe posted a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs. Valentina Bozzato added five assists and six digs.
Cecilia Soragna led NCF at the net with two assisted blocks.
THE TURNING POINT
After an opening set featuring 12 ties and seven lead changes, NCF remained within striking distance throughout the second frame.
The teams battled through 10 more ties, but Southeastern prevailed 25-21 to take control of the match. The Fire carried the 2-0 advantage into the third set and completed the sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS
24
Years since The Sun Conference last featured a ranked-versus-ranked volleyball matchup.
25
Combined ties across the three sets.
11
Lead changes during the match.
53
Team digs collected by the Mighty Banyans.
6
Service aces recorded by NCF.
MATCH STAT LEADERS
Kills: Wiktoria Telecka - 13
Assists: Addison Phillippe - 22
Digs: Khalia Horta - 14
Service Aces: Soraya Nacero - 4
Total Blocks: Cecilia Soragna - 2.0
Total Points: Wiktoria Telecka - 14.5
UP NEXT: NCF returns to action Saturday when the Mighty Banyans travel to face Florida Memorial University at 2 p.m.
