JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – No. 15 Santa Fe Volleyball kept its postseason hopes alive on Saturday morning in a thrilling matchup with No. 20 Indian River State College, coming all the way back from two sets down to eliminate the Pioneers, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9.

Santa Fe's comeback from two sets down was the third in program history, and the first in postseason play.

It was the third meeting between the two teams this year, with the teams splitting the season series, and it was evident early on that it would be a battle in the grudge match.  

Here's how the classic matchup between the Saints and the Pioneers played out in Jacksonville…

Set 1 – IRSC 25, SF 22

Neither team could gain any separation from the other at the start, and the score was knotted up at 15-15 after a kill from Emily Register.

Indian River, however, started a 3-0 run to go in front 18-15, forcing a Santa Fe timeout.

The Pioneers lead eventually grew to four points 22-18, but the Saints scored the next two points out of a timeout before Indian River called a timeout of their own.

The Saints whittled the deficit all the way down to a single point, 23-22, on Samantha Caglianone's sixth kill of the opening set.

The Pioneers never let the Saints tie or take the lead though and closed it out with back-to-back successful swings.

Set 2 – IRSC 25, SF 20

The second set was similar to the first, in that separation was hard to come by.

The Saints trailed 13-11 but strung together three unanswered points to seize a 14-13 lead, leading to an IRSC timeout. Caglianone had another kill in the spurt and was in on a block with Katelyn Crofts as well.

The teams continued to counter one another, and the score was all tied up at 20-20.

Indian River turned the match completely in their favor by accounting for the next five points to go ahead 2-0, with four of the five points coming by way of kills.

Set 3 – SF 25, IRSC 22

Santa Fe maintained a slight edge for the start of the third set and established a 12-8 advantage following a block from Lilli Bentz and Emily Register.

As the set wore on, Indian River turned up the pressure with the Saints' backs up against the wall, and came all the way to within a single point, 22-21.

The Saints called a timeout and regrouped in the clutch, earning three of the final four points to win the third.

Set 4 – SF 25, IRSC 23

With the score tied at 3-3, a block, Amelia MacCallum ace, and Pioneer ballhandling error put SF up 6-3.

Later on, Caglianone's 15th kill of the match brought the score to 14-11.

Indian River, however, began a 7-1 run to go ahead 18-15, and Head Coach Nick Cheronis elected to call a timeout.

The Saints' attack came out of the timeout firing on all cylinders, and had five kills during a 7-2 Saints' surge to lead 22-20. Three of the kills came off the hand of Crofts.

Another kill from Caglianone handed SF their first set point, 24-22. After an Indian River kill, the Saints used their second timeout and setup a play to Register from the middle, and the sophomore made no mistake with an aggressive swing to the back right corner, forcing a decisive fifth set.  

Set 5 – SF 15, IRSC 9

With momentum in their favor, the Saints set the tone and raced ahead 5-1. 

Indian River was able to score four straight to tie it up at 5-5, but was unable to take a lead.

The score remained tied at 8-8, when the Pioneers were hurt by a service error and back-to-back attack errors, as SF went in front 11-8.

Indian River called a timeout and was able to earn the next point, but it would prove to be their last, as Santa Fe finished with a flurry.

Another Pioneer error was sandwiched between two key kills from Madison Sheffield, and setter Maria Hernandez put the finishing touches on the remarkable comeback with an emphatic kill on a tight pass at the net.

Statistics of Note

-It was just the second five-set match of the season for Santa Fe, both of which were won by the Saints.

-The Saints evened the all-time series with the Pioneers, 6-6.

-Ayala set an SF record for digs in a game, amassing 48 to lead the Saints' from the back row. In the process, she also became the program's all-time leader in career digs, surpassing the mark of 605 from Ann-Lorrayne Bzoch.

-Caglianone, a freshman, finished with a career-high 17 kills and career-high 18 digs. Sheffield finished with 13 kills, three of which were in the final set. Sheffield also added 18 digs.

-Crofts had 11 kills, nine digs, and four blocks, while Register had a great game as part of the duo in the middle with Crofts.

-Hernandez had 50 assists and 23 digs for the Saints' cause. 

-The Saints' 140 digs in the match set a new program record. 

Up Next

The No. 4 seeded Saints prepare for a 7:00 p.m. matchup tonight in another elimination game with the No. 3 seeded Polk State College Eagles.

A win would secure Santa Fe's spot into Sunday's action, when they would have a chance to play for the State Championship. A win would also ensure at least a third place finish in the tournament, which would advance the Saints into the upcoming District Tournament on Friday, April 2 at Florida State College at Jacksonville.