Mike Ridaught
On Saturday night, the season came to an end for the Santa Fe College volleyball team.
The No. 4 seeded Saints lost a five-set thriller against No. 3 Polk State College on Saturday night to finish fourth at the FCSAA state volleyball tournament at Florida State College in Jacksonville.
Santa Fe (17-4), which is ranked 15th in the NJCAA Division I national rankings, dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-19 but bounced back to win 25-20 in the third set and 25-22 in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set.
However, Polk State, ranked eighth nationally, edged Santa Fe, 15-12, in the fifth set.
It was the third straight season that SF suffered a defeat to Polk State College in the State Tournament.
Freshman Sam Caglianone led the Saints with 12 kills, followed by Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year Madison Sheffield, who had 10.
On Saturday morning, the Saints came all the way back from two sets down to defeat No. 6 seeded and 20th-ranked Indian River State College, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9, to advance to Saturday night’s game against the Eagles.
Caglianone finished with a career-high 17 kills, followed by Sheffield's 12 kills. All-Conference selection Katelyn Crofts added 10 kills and six blocks.