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Florida National University

Scoreboard

Sara Lizano Joya at FNU practice 2026
2
Florida National (FL) FNU 3-8
3
Winner Keiser KU 7-7
Florida National (FL) FNU
3-8
2
Final
3
Keiser KU
7-7
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Florida National (FL) FNU 18 10 26 25 5 (2)
Keiser KU 25 25 24 23 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Brenda Bogle

FNU forces a fifth set in loss to Keiser Seahawks

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 18, 2026) — Florida National volleyball (3-8) was not an easy opponent for the Keiser University Seahawks (7-7) Friday, delivering great competition in a 3-2 loss to the Seahawks out of West Palm Beach, Fla. Despite falling in the first two games, FNU used a relentless 26-24 win in set three and a 25-23 win in set four to extend the match.

To get things started in the 16th meeting between these two teams, Keiser got the early edge on a 25-18 triumph in set one. Makenzi Bennett's fourth kill of the frame earned KU the 1-0 match lead while Grace Leffler had a third of FNU's kills in the opener. KU's offense was firing on all cylinders with 19 kills compared to 10 from FNU. The second frame was not a strong showing for the Conquistadors, dropping the game 25-10 on 16 Seahawk kills. Leffler and Carolina Goncalves combined for four of FNU's seven successful terminations with the all-important third set en route.

To the Seahawks' surprise, FNU was able to turn the corner with a 26-24 win in the third despite being behind in the kills race 19-14. Lily Hitchcock's second kill of the evening put her team ahead 20-15, but Keiser was able to tie things up at 22 all with Amie Molina at the service line. FNU kept the match alive late on a service error by Bennett and a set-clinching service ace by Shady Mayer.

The fourth was a back-and-forth battle in the middle of the action, with each team ending the frame with 14 terminations apiece. It was a bad set by Mallory Dills and Goncalves's fourth kill of the frame ushered in a winner-take-all fifth game. Unfortunately, FNU ran out of gas in crunch time after taking a 1-0 lead on an attack error by Emma Friese. KU went on an impressive run, and a timeout by the Conquistadors with the score at 4-1 did not seem to do the trick. Hitchcock and Camila Polanco combined for an impressive block on Friese, but a block error on Leffler was enough to give Keiser the 15-5 victory.

Sara Lizano Joya was excellent through all five games with a team-high 16 kills. Goncalves wasn't far behind with 11, and Ariana Long led all players in digs with 21. Pelin Alci was nothing short of remarkable with 41 assists to go along with 11 digs.

Up Next: FNU travels to Temple Terrace, Fla., for an early evening rematch against conference rival Florida College on Sept. 29.


 
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