The ninth-ranked Moccasins split a pair of five-set matches at Tampa Saturday. They won their first match of the day over Northern Kentucky 25-20, 26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12. They came up short in their second match, though, with #21 Ashland winning 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13.
After falling behind two sets to one against Ashland, the Moccasins rallied to win set four and force the deciding fifth set. They had an early 7-2 in that set, but with the scored tied at 13-13, Ashland's Marina Santos recorded a kill to give her team the lead and a Moccasin error produced Ashland's final point.
Danielle Higginbotham led FSC with 18 kills, while Danielle Durham recorded her 37th career double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs. Courtney Johnson produced a career-high 17 digs from her libero position.
In the win over Northern Kentucky, Higginbotham delivered a career-high 23 kills and hit .375 for the match. Durham posted a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs, while Natalie Arvizu added seven kills and a career-high 11 digs.
With the deciding fifth set tied at 12-12, a Northern Kentucky service error gave FSC the lead. Durham added a kill to make it 14-12, then a Northern Kentucky attack error gave the Moccasins their final point.
FSC plays in the Premier Challenge at Denver, Colo., next Friday and Saturday. They will meet Hawaii-Hilo and Cal State-Chico on Friday at noon and 7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time), respectively. Saturday's opponents and match times will be determined by Friday's results.
