Box Score BOCA RATON - Florida Southern Volleyball concluded its two-game road swing in South Florida here Saturday afternoon by picking up a three-set victory over Lynn (25-17, 25-16, 25-20) in Sunshine State Conference action at St. Andrew's School.
With the victory, the Moccasins improve its record to 17-9 overall and 7-3 in the SSC and runs its win streak to two straight after collecting a four-set win on Friday at Barry to begin its South Florida road swing.
"I am happy we were able to come on the road this weekend and get two wins," Mocs head coach Jill Stephens said following Saturday's 77-minute match. "It is tough to win on the road in this league. I'm proud of the kids for getting after it and playing well this weekend."
Saturday's win over Lynn was the second of the season for the Mocs over the Fighting Knights as they opened league play with a four-set win in Lakeland on Sept. 21.
The Mocs win was keyed by an offense that recorded 48 kills and hit .327 for the match. Additionally, the Mocs had five service aces and forced the Knights into 18 attack errors and a .120 hitting percentage. LU recorded 31 kills for the match.
Senior Anne Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla.) led a balanced Mocs offense as she recorded a match-high 11 kills and added 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the season and she finished the day with a .455 hitting percentage. In addition to Pietkiewicz, sophomore right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.) added nine kills and hit .368, while junior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.) contributed eight kills, 11 digs and 30 assists for her team-leading 19th double-double.
Junior middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Crescent City, Fla.) added seven kills, two blocks and hit .375 in the win and junior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) had six kills, two blocks and hit .429.
"Kayshia really had a tremendous weekend for us, both offensively and defensively," said Stephens. On the weekend, Brady recorded 17 kills and 10 blocks, including having a career-high eight blocks on Friday at Barry and hit .412 in seven sets.
In the first set, FSC jumped in front 2-0 and led 10-6 when the Knights used a 6-2 run to tie the set at 12. The Mocs, though, responded with a 7-1 scoring run keyed by two kills each from Fernandez and Brady to take a 19-13 lead. LU would pull within 20-14, but the Mocs closed out the set scoring five of the final eight points to seal its 25-17 win. In the first set, FSC hit .387 and had 15 kills.
Much like the first set, the second set was all FSC as they opened with a 7-2 lead. LU would used a 5-2 run to pull within 9-7, but the Mocs answered with a 6-2 run to push its lead to 15-9 following an ace by Pietkiewicz. LU, though, used a 5-2 run to drop FSC's lead to 17-14, but the Mocs would close the set on an 8-2 run to post the 25-16 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Mocs hit .294 in the second set and had 14 kills, while LU hit .000.
The third set was the most competitive of the match as it featured 10 ties and three lead changes. The Knights held an early 5-3 lead and led 7-6 when the Mocs used a 6-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. FSC extended its lead to 19-13 following a kill from Hale, before LU used a quick 4-1 spurt to pull within 20-17. That would be as close as the match would get as the Mocs scored five of the final eight points to seal the 25-20 win.
LU was paced by eight kills apiece from Shannon Dugan and Angie Caple. Lizzy Raffa added seven kills and Michelle Jordan contributed a match-high 15 digs in the loss.
The Mocs will return to action next Friday as they travel to St. Petersburg for a 7 p.m. SSC match against Eckerd. FSC picked up a four-set win over the Tritons in Lakeland on Sept. 29. Following the Eckerd match, the Mocs will return home to Jenkins Field House next Saturday to host sixth-ranked Tampa in a 4 p.m. match.
