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No. 15 Volleyball's Run Concludes in Five-Sets with No. 8 Polk State
March 27, 2021

No. 15 Volleyball's Run Concludes in Five-Sets with No. 8 Polk State

Video Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – No. 15 Santa Fe Volleyball's season came to a close on Saturday evening in the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament, as the No. 3 seed Polk State College outlasted the No. 4 seed Santa Fe in five sets, 25-12, 25-19, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12.
 
Polk State, ranked No. 8 in the NJCAA, got past the Saints for a second time this season. Santa Fe pushed the Eagles down to the wire, however, and nearly came all the way back from a two-set deficit for the second consecutive match. 
 
Set 1 – PSC 25, SF 12
 
Polk State started strongly and led 10-3 in the blink of an eye, with the Saints seemingly coming out a little flat after a thrilling, come-from-behind five-set win over Indian River State College earlier in the day. 
 
The Eagles never looked back in the opening set, cruising to the 25-12 win to go ahead 1-0.
 
Set 2 – PSC 25, SF 19
 
Santa Fe reset in the second set, and took a 5-2 lead with five straight points. 
 
The Eagles tied it up at 6-6, and the two teams stayed close until it was 13-13.
 
A 3-0 spurt from Polk State forced a Santa Fe timeout, and the Saints were never able to get back into it, as the Eagles went in front 2-0.
 
Set 3 – SF 25, PSC 20
 
In an 0-2 hole once again, the Saints showed resolve and scored six of the first eight points in the third set. 
 
The closest Polk State would come the rest of the way was two points, and a block from Katelyn Crofts and Samantha Caglianone sealed the third set victory for SF, 25-20. 
 
Madison Sheffield had six kills in the set to lead the Saints attack. 
 
Set 4 – SF 25, PSC 22
Polk State appeared to be closing in on a four-set win, and led 13-8 to force a timeout from Head Coach Nick Cheronis.
 
The Saints weren't going down easily, however. Trailing 15-10, SF used a string of four unanswered points to get right back into it, and eventually tied it up at 17-17 with a block.
 
The set was tied 21-21, when Santa Fe accounted for the next three points. Santa Fe earned three set points with a Caglianone kill sandwiched between two more blocks at the net. 
 
Although Polk State saved one set point, Caglianone made the match all square with another kill as the match went the distance.
 
Set 5 – PSC 15, SF 12
The Eagles found a way to score the first four points of the decisive set, and led 9-4 before Santa Fe took their final timeout.
 
An ace from Kariana Ayala brought SF to as close as three, 11-8, but the Eagles countered with three straight points to claim their first match points, leading 14-8.
 
SF battled and fought off four match points, with the last two coming off Caglianone kills.
 
The Eagles came up with the final point on a kill from the left side, advancing to the final day of the tournament on Sunday. 
 
Statistics of Note
-It was the third straight season that SF suffered a defeat to Polk State College in the State Tournament.
 
-All four of the SF opponents in the tournament were ranked inside the Top-20 of the NJCAA Division I: Daytona State (No. 18), Miami Dade (No. 1), Indian River (No. 20), and Polk State (No. 8).
 
-Caglianone had 15 kills, and Sheffield recorded 12 kills to go along with 19 digs. 
 
-Maria Hernandez doled out 45 assists to go along with 17 digs. 
 
-The libero Ayala finished with 37 digs. 
 
Match Implications
Polk State advanced to play the No. 2 seed, Florida Southwestern State, on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The Eagles also secured a spot in the upcoming District Tournament.
 
No. 15 Santa Fe's season concludes with an overall record of 17-4 and a fourth place finish in the State Tournament. The Saints have made a tournament appearance in all seven seasons in program history under the direction of Cheronis.