Vikings move on to the finals with a 3 set victory against Lake Sumter

Lake City, FL. The Vikings defeated Lake Sumter State College 25-16, 25-17, 25-13 to move on to the Gulf District Championship match for the second time in three years. SJR State is now 31-4 on the season.

Set 1 25-16

A back and forth first set was broken open when Cassidy Casey went on a 3 point serving run including 2 aces to give the Vikings an early 10-5 lead.  Lake Sumter kept things close trailing 13-17 before a 8-3 run ended things for the Vikings.  Casey had 3 aces in the set, Rickie Sheets had 4 kills to lead SJR State.

Set 2 25-17

The score was close again early until Tara English went on a 4 point serving run including 3 aces to give the Vikings a 14-8 lead.  SJR State's lead grew to 18-10 and the Vikings kept that margin of 8 winning 25-17.  Hope Harrington had 3 kills and Dariana Luna had 7 digs.

Set 3  25-13

The Vikings jumped out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back to finish the match in 3 sets.  Mayya Kucherova had 6 of her 8 kills in set 3, leading SJR State with a .750 hitting percentage.

LEADERS

Kills - Mayya Kucherova 8

Assists - Mone Gordon 31

Digs - Dariana Luna 16

Aces - Tara English 5

Blocks - Cassidy Casey and Hope Harrington 5

Points - Casey 10.5

NOTES

Vikings 8 blocks were the most in a 3 set match this year.

5 Vikings had 10+ digs in the match

This was the 11th win in a row for SJR State.

Cohen's Comments

This was one of the 2 or 3 best matches we have played all year.  Our blocking was fantastic as was our floor defense.  Offensively we took a little bit of time to find a rhythm but our balance today was the difference as was our serving once again.   

Up Next

The Vikings play in the Gulf District Finals at 1PM tomorrow, the winner advances to the NJCAA Division 2 National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, IA.