Box Score Due West, S.C. -  The Erskine Flying Fleet came back from being down 0-2 to defeat the Warriors of Southern Wesleyan University 3 to 2 to  earn the program's first ever conference regular season championship and clinch the #1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Junior middle blocker Kelly Sullivan (Wellington, FL, Wellington Community High School) had an outstanding performance scoring a career high 27 kills to help the Fleet in the victory.
 
The Warriors came out strong in the first set, grabbing a five point lead 15-10. The Fleet could not find their offense as they hit a negative percentage through the set, losing it 25-19.
 
The second set proved to be much closer as the Fleet and Warriors fought point to point until the Warriors gained a 21-20 lead and did not trail again.  The Warriors finished up winning the set 25-23, getting an important 2-0 lead on the conference leading  Fleet.
 
In between sets two and three, Head Coach Heather Vahjen reminded the team that "the season has never been about the wins and losses or a record, rather the journey that gets us to where we want to go, you control your attitude and effort and if at the end of the match you gave your best and still lost then the other team beat us when we were giving our best."
 
Vahjens's words proved to be inspirational as Erskine refused to die in the third set and stepped on the court with more energy, starting the set with an 8-1 lead. Erskine led as much as 23-11 in the set when the Warriors started to grind back into the set, going on two scoring runs, but the Fleet closed the set 25-18 with a kill from Sullivan.
 
The fourth set was a very fought set by both teams. The score and lead changed several times throughout the set.  Tied at 20-20 tie senior outside hitter Caitlin Bullock (Lexington, SC, White Knoll High School) stepped up with four kills that combined with an ace from senior Emily Kennington (Jefferson, SC, Central High School) to give the Fleet the set 25-20, and tying the match at two sets a piece.
 
In the decisive set the Warriors demonstrated that they were not giving up without a fight, coming out strong, leading half way through 8-5. The Fleet clawed back into the set and finally got the lead 10-9 with a service ace from Bullock.  The teams traded side outs until the Fleet had a 12-11 lead and went on a 3-1 rally started by a kill from Sullivan and an ace from sophomore Kristen Dodge (Duncan, SC, Byrnes High School) to arrive at match point with a slightly comfortable lead at 14-11. The Warriors sided out to make it 14-12 but a service error by SWU gave the Fleet the win 15-12.
 
For Erskine Kelly Sullivan led all players on the court with 27 kills, one ace and six block assists, followed by Caitlin Bullock with 23 kills.  The defense was anchored by sophomore libero Kendall Kirk (Lexington, SC, White Knoll High School), who also posted a career high 31 digs.
 
The victory gave Erskine the program's first ever conference regular season championship while clinching the #1 seed in the conference tournament that gives the Fleet home court advantage.  Junior Kelly Sullivan expressed her emotions stating that "it's truly the most unbelievable feeling, I really believe that everything happens for a reason and last week we went to five with Limestone to prepare us for this moment, I think it's all in God's plan and it was all meant to be."
 
Coach Vahjen commentated upon the win that it feels "overwhelming and exciting, I am thankful, WE are thankful. We've worked relentlessly to build a solid foundation. We are going to continue to build on that in the post season."
 
Erskine's next game is Friday against the Lees McRae Bobcats in Belk Arena. The Fleet will be celebrating senior night.