WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Indiana Wesleyan women's volleyball opened its 2026 season by splitting a pair of pool-play matches on day one of the Keiser University Tournament. The Wildcats swept Florida National 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-18) in the morning before falling t
o Southeastern in five sets that evening, 25-14, 11-25, 25-16, 21-25, 6-15, to finish the day at 1-1.
Indiana Wesleyan 3, Florida National 0
SET ONE
- Florida National jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind kills from Chriselle Ferdinand and Carolina Goncalves.
- The teams traded points until Indiana Wesleyan used a 3-0 run, capped by a kill from Blair Gardiner, to level the set at 9-9.
- A 5-0 run, highlighted by a service ace from Payton Barendsen, pushed the Wildcats ahead 17-11.
- Florida National answered with a 4-0 stretch to trim the deficit to 17-15, but IWU used a 4-0 run of its own to help close out the set 25-19.
SET TWO
- Indiana Wesleyan and Florida National traded points early before the set was tied at 5-5.
- The Wildcats then reeled off an 8-0 run behind Morgan Osborn's serve, featuring kills from Marin Sanchez, Aubree Deshetsky and Shae Williams, to take a commanding 13-5 lead.
- IWU later added a 5-0 run, punctuated by two service aces from Camaya Murry, to extend the lead to 23-8.
- The Wildcats closed out the set 25-9.
SET THREE
- Indiana Wesleyan opened with a 3-0 run, including a service ace from Payton Barendsen, to lead 3-1.
- The Wildcats extended the advantage to 7-3 before a 5-0 run, aided by kills from Shae Williams, Blair Gardiner and Aubree Deshetsky, made it 13-5.
- Florida National battled back with a 3-0 run to cut the margin to 18-13, but Indiana Wesleyan closed on a 25-18 win to complete the sweep.
Southeastern 3, Indiana Wesleyan 2
SET ONE
- Indiana Wesleyan opened with a 3-0 run, capped by a block from Shae Williams and Jaycee Folkers, to take an early 3-0 lead.
- Southeastern answered with a 3-0 run of its own to cut the gap to 14-11, but the Wildcats responded immediately with a 4-0 run, featuring back-to-back kills from Jaycee Folkers and a kill from Blair Gardiner, to go up 18-11.
- IWU added another 4-0 run, closed out by a service ace from Aubree Deshetsky, to extend the lead to 22-13.
- The Wildcats closed out the opening set, 25-14.
SET TWO
- Southeastern used a 3-0 run to take a 6-4 lead, then broke the set open with a 6-0 run to move ahead 15-7.
- A 5-0 SEU run pushed the margin to 20-9, and the Fire closed the set on a 3-0 run to win 25-11, evening the match.
SET THREE
- Indiana Wesleyan jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind back-to-back kills from Aubree Deshetsky.
- Southeastern answered with a 4-0 run to take a 6-4 lead, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run, highlighted by kills from Jaycee Folkers and Blair Gardiner and a service ace from Morgan Osborn, to move ahead 11-6.
- Southeastern trimmed the gap with a 3-0 run to trail 15-12, but Indiana Wesleyan pulled away down the stretch, closing the set 25-16 to retake the match lead.
SET FOUR
- Southeastern used a 5-0 run to seize control at 14-8, then extended the lead to 18-10 with a 4-0 stretch.
- Indiana Wesleyan answered with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 18-15, but Southeastern pushed back ahead 23-17 with a 3-0 run.
- The Wildcats rallied with a late 3-0 run to close within 24-21, but Southeastern closed out the set 25-21 to force a decisive fifth.
SET FIVE
- Southeastern opened with a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead, then closed the match on a 6-0 run to win the fifth set 15-6 and take the match, 3-2.
KEY WILDCATS
vs. Florida National
vs. Southeastern
LOOKING AHEAD
- IWU returns to Keiser University tomorrow for two more matches at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM.
- Links for tickets, live stats, and video are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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