Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints took the defending FCSAA Champions to the brink on Tuesday night in Tampa, pushing Hillsborough CC to five sets before falling to the Hawks in a closely contested match. The loss drops SF to 3-2.
Santa Fe led 19-15 in the first set, but a 10-3 run by the Hawks led to a HCC victory and a 1-0 lead. The Saints bounced back in the second set for a 25-1 win, but HCC again answered in the third, handling SF 25-19 for the 2-1 advantage.
The Saints extended the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set, forcing a fifth and decisive set.
With the score tied 10-10, back to back errors on a serve and then on serve reception put SF in a hole they couldn't recover from. The Hawks held on to the lead and won 15-12, taking the match 3-2.
Nadine Williams finished the match with 18 kills, three blocks, and 14 digs, Sterling Williamson had 16 kills, and Meraiah Hill led the team with five blocks.
Coach Nick Cheronis was positive after the match, expressing his hope that the game was a learning experience.
"If we learned how hard it is to beat a good team on the road, then it was a great trip," said Cheronis.