Santa Fe Unable to Break Losing Streak, Dropping a 10th Straight Game

To say the Santa Fe Saints volleyball team has hit a rough patch in their season would be an understatement. 

The team entered Thursday’s matchup as losers of their last nine, with a record of 4-11 and in desperate need of a win. Coming off a tough match, in which they lost in straight sets to Lake Sumter State College, the Saints were looking to turn things around with an upset against the 13th-ranked Hillsborough Community College Hawks. The Hawks enter this game as a team that is having a season on the opposite end of the spectrum, boasting a record of 14-6, and also looking for a bounce-back win following a narrow 2-3 loss against the Miami Dade Sharks. 

The Match

The first set, and much of the match, was full of ups and downs for the Saints, as they struggled to find consistent play throughout. The set was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams displaying flashes of great offense, as well as some mistakes and sloppy play. Santa Fe showed a great sense of urgency and discipline every time HCC would begin to pull away. In the end, HCC’s offense was too much for the Saints to handle, as they dropped the set 20-25.

The second set was where it seemed the Saints might have found their footing, taking it by a score of 25-20. They were able to pull ahead quickly thanks to the offense kicking into high gear, led by Keionna Mackey and Katelyn Crofts. The Hawks were able to crawl back from an eight-point deficit to just 3, but ultimately it wasn’t enough and the Saints took the set.

The Saints, hoping to continue the momentum, completely fell apart in the third set, finding themselves down 11-3 early. Hillsborough continued to dominate this set, winning 25-19. Santa Fe did put together a late rally, but the slow start was too much to overcome.

Heading into set four, it was a must-win scenario for the Saints. They weren’t able to find their groove early, however, and found themselves in a similar situation as the third set, down 13-3. Hillsborough had no trouble finishing the final set off, winning 25-17 and winning the match, resulting in the tenth straight loss for Santa Fe.

Looking Ahead for Santa Fe

Santa Fe Saints volleyball certainly has not had the season they were hoping for up to this point, but there is still time to finish the season strong. With 6 games remaining, the team still has a chance to end the season on a positive note and build upon their talented young roster. They will be looking to get some revenge against the Eastern Florida State Titans, whom they suffered a loss to earlier this season, this upcoming Saturday at 2pm.

Santa Fe loses the third set 25-17 and loses the game three sets to one against Hillsborough Community College pic.twitter.com/NO19mFuoY0

— Nicholas Diaz (@nickdiaz_8) October 13, 2022