WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The second seed Coastal Georgia Mariners (20-8,12-4) swept the third seed Southeastern University (21-10, 11-5) in the Sun Conference Semifinal match.
Coastal Georgia handled Southeastern easily in three sets, giving up less points than they did in their sweep of the Fire two weeks ago in regular season play.
Pin hitters senior Addie Pedraza and sophomore Adair Werley were offensive weapons that could not be stopped. From the outside, Pedraza collected a game-high 16 kills, tying her career high in three sets and maintained a .419 kill percentage. The Southeastern Fire could not keep up with Pedraza as she continuously collected kills for the Mariners.
From the rightside, Werley not only collected 10 kills, but also added two blocks solos and two block assists. The sophomore maintained a game-high .526 kill percentage, a career best when she had 10 or more kills.
Hitters Alison Muldrow, Hannah Williams and Sam Kepler also contributed to the Mariner victory. Muldrow totaled six kills and a .385 kill percentage, while Williams and Kepler each scored five kills apiece.
Yorelis Rios Gonzalez really proved she deserved her "TSC Libero of the Year" title in today's match. The senior Libero racked up 24 digs for the Mariners, stumping the Fire's offense. Kepler, playing all the way around contributed 14 digs and setter Gardieliz Laureano-Andujar added 12 of her own. The Mariner's defense thwarted the Fire's offense only allowing them to score 27 kills the entire match.
Junior Second Team all-conference setter Ashley Kot led the Mariners with 19 assists and junior setter Laureano-Andujar collected 14. Rios Gonzalez added a career-high nine assists to aid the Mariners as well.
In addition to their efficient offense, the Mariners front row threw a block party, collecting eight block assists and three block solos against the Fire. Werley and sophomore middle blocker Tamaira Laezza led the charge with four block apiece.
Coastal Georgia 3, Southeastern 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-12)
Set One:
The Mariners started off hot in the semifinal and came out swinging, easily going up 10-1. Kepler served up a nine-point Mariner run which included kills from Werley and Pedraza. The Mariners continued their hot streak and handily defeated the Southeastern Fire in set one.
In the first set, the pins dominated Southeastern. Senior second team all-conference selection Pedraza and sophomore rightside Werley each collected five kills apiece. These offensive weapons each maintained a .455 kill percentage.
Freshman rightside Williams collected three kills on four attempts in the first set and proved the most efficient with a .750 kill percentage.
As a team, the Mariners gave up only one hitting error and collected 16 kills. Coastal Georgia bested the Fire 25-14.
Set Two:
The Mariners again started off hot in the second set. They scored the first two points playing aggressive defense at the net, with back to back blocks. Werley and Laezza shut down the Fire outside on the first point and Werley laid down a block solo for point two.
Despite the Fire putting up more fight early in the set, the Mariners continued to extend their lead going up 10-4 after a five point unanswered run that forced a Fire timeout.
The Mariners maintained a significant lead, forcing a second Fire timeout at 18-10. Coastal Georgia led 22-14, but the Fire battled back at late in the game to close the gap 20-24. Coming out of a timeout, Coastal Georgia ended the set the same way they started it, with a block. Laezza stuffed the Fire middle to finish the set 25-20.
Set Three:
After an error by the Fire, the Mariners quickly went up 2-0 with another block from Werley and Laezza. Again with the fast start, the Mariners force a Southeastern timeout after taking a 6-1 lead in the third set. Rios Gonzalez was not about to be iced when she came out of the timeout, and served up an ace to go up 7-1.
Muldrow ran a stunning slide behind the setter that she placed perfectly on the cross court line to go up 8-3.
The Mariner put down block after block in set three. To score the 15th point Kepler and Laezza shut down Southeastern's right side. Then Laezza scored the following point with a kill to her left. Werley added a monster block to score the 20th point, she was so far up and over the net, the Southeastern middle had no chance.
To end the set and match, senior defensive specialist Madie Bunge served up an ace to take the Mariners to game point. A Southeastern Fire error ended set three 25-12.
Coastal Georgia will take on the Winner of the Keiser University and Florida Memorial University match tomorrow at 1:00p.m. in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship.
