The Santa Fe Saints put together multi-point runs in each set in route to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-18 sweep of Indian River State College in the first round of the NJCAA District/FCSAA State Volleyball Tournament in Bradenton Friday afternoon.

In the first set, SF was trailing 7-5 when they went on a 9-3 run to lead to the win. In set two IRSC held their only lead of the set at 18-17 when a time out called by SF Head Coach Nick Cheronis preceded a Saints rally that included the final five points of the 25-21 win.

Freshman Jenna Wiggs played big behind the line in set three, scoring two of her three aces on the day while Brooke Ruud, Aspen Dangren and Maggie Mathews controlled the net in the 25-18 win.

Rudd recorded 13 kills on the day while Mathews and Dangren had six apiece. Jocelyn Garcia had four blocks as did Dangren while Mathews also had three aces.

The Saints advance to face Polk State College at 7:00 pm Friday night in second round action. The Eagles are presently ranked #2 in the FCSAA and #2 in the nation with a record of 19-5. The Saints improve to 20-3 and are ranked #4 in the FCSAA and #16 in the nation.

After an impressive 3-0 win over Indian River State College in the afternoon, the Santa Fe Saints were beaten by the same 3-0 margin by Polk State Friday evening at the NJCAA District/FCSAA State Tournament.

The Saints (20-4) looked to be dialed in for the opening set, taking a early 9-3 lead on an ace by Jenna Wiggs, But the Eagles (20-5) took advantage of a couple of service errors to pull even before scoring seven of the last nine points in the set for a 25-21 win.

The Eagles took control early in set two on their way to a 25-20 win and maintained a comfortable lead for much of the third set leading to their 25-17 set and match win.

Maggie Mathews was one of the bright spots for the Saints, with eight kills, but there was very little supporting cast.

"It was tough generating any offense tonight," said SF Head Coach Nick Cheronis. "Polk State had a great serving match and that was the difference."

The Saints will now take on St. Petersburg State College in an elimination match at 12 noon tomorrow. The Titans (13-3) defeated the Saints 3-0 in their only other meeting this season back on September 15.

Three teams from the eight-team state tournament will advance to the NJCAA national Tournament. All games this weekend will be webcast on the FCSAA Digital Network athttps://team1sports.com/fcsaa/.