JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On the second day of the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament, No. 15 Santa Fe volleyball fell to No. 1 Miami Dade College in straight sets, 25-17, 25-10, 25-23.

The Sharks have won the past four Region 8 State Tournaments and showed why they are ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I, improving to 20-0 with the win over the No. 4 seeded Saints.

Santa Fe's dominant eight-match winning streak came to an end, along with the streak of 24 consecutive sets won.

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

Set 1 – MDC 25, SF 17

The first four points of the match went to Miami Dade, before Emily Register got the Saints on the scoreboard with a kill that found the baseline.

Miami Dade went ahead 10-3, however, as the Sharks executed an efficient attack.

The Saints got as close as six points, 16-10, before Miami Dade seized their largest lead of the set, 22-10, with a 6-0 run.

Although Santa Fe was able to win seven of the set's final ten points, the Sharks went in front, 1-0.

Set 2 – MDC 25, SF 10

The Saints took their first lead in a set, 2-1, after a setting error from the Sharks. 

A 7-1 run from Miami Dade forced Head Coach Nick Cheronis to take a timeout, however, as SF found themselves in an 8-3 hole.

Santa Fe started to find the floor with a few more of their swings, and each side went back-and-forth until the score brought itself to 17-10 in favor of Miami Dade, following a kill from Lilli Bentz.

The rest of the set belonged to the Sharks, who rattled off eight straight points to go ahead 2-0. Santa Fe was hampered by a few attack errors during the Miami Dade surge, and went into the third set knowing it needed to make its best effort towards mounting a comeback.

Set 3 – MDC 25, SF 23

The Saints did just that, as the two sides remained close at the start of the third. 

Trailing 10-9, SF went on a 5-1 run to go ahead 14-11, forcing a Miami Dade timeout. The attack started to find some more success, and the block showed signs of starting to come alive to make things more difficult for the Sharks.

Later on, back-to-back kills from Register and Bentz gave the Saints their largest advantage of the set, 16-12.

The Saints' lead was still maintained and held at 20-17 after a big block from Katelyn Crofts and Madison Sheffield. Three straight points from Miami Dade, however, tied it at 20-20, forcing an SF timeout.

The teams alternated points until it was tied 22-22, and the Sharks were able to earn their first match point, 24-22, with consecutive points.

Register had another block to save the first match point, but on the ensuing point, Miami Dade had a kill to preserve the three-set win over the Saints.

Statistics of Note

-It was just Santa Fe's third defeat this season.

-The loss ended the Saints' streak of eight straight wins and 24 consecutive sets won. 

-Miami Dade improved to 5-2 all-time against the Saints. 

-Samantha Caglianone led the Saints with 7 kills. 

-Maria Hernandez had a double-double with 22 assists and 14 digs.

-Kariana Ayala led the back row with 19 digs. 

The Cheronis Perspective

Head Coach Nick Cheronis: "We lost to a better team today, but we learned a lot about what it takes to play at the highest level and I thought that showed in the third set."

Up Next

The Saints (16-3) are still alive in the double-elimination tournament and will next play on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. against Indian River State College. If Santa Fe wins the 10:00 a.m., match, they will turn right back around to play on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

The Saints need to now win twice on Saturday to secure at least a third place finish in the State Tournament, which would earn Santa Fe a spot in the District Championships on Friday, April 2.

The complete bracket and tournament information is included below.

Officlal Tournament Website | Spectator Information | Bracket | FCSAA Digital Network Broadcast | FSCJ South Campus Map