Box Score TAMPA - Florida Southern saw its 2012 volleyball season come to an end here Friday evening as the Moccasins fell in three sets to No. 7 ranked Tampa (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the UT campus.
The Mocs, who finished the season with a 22-12 overall record, lost for the second straight year in the regional semifinals to Tampa as they fell in three sets in last year’s regional semifinals. The Mocs, who ended the season winning five of its last six matches, are now 19-29 all-time in 26 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Friday's contest marked the final one for the Mocs two member senior class, outside hitter Anne Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla.) and middle blocker Morgan Kosterlitz (Dunedin, Fla.). Pietkiewicz, who was named a Second-Team All-Sunshine State Conference honoree and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-South Region selection, recorded nine kills and hit .273 in her final collegiate match, while Kosterlitz played in the third set and recorded a kill to close her college career.
In addition to Pietkiewicz's nine kills, freshman middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Crescent City, Fla.), who was named the SSC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, also recorded nine kills and hit .353 in the loss, while junior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.) added 25 assists and eight digs and freshman setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) had six kills, seven digs and hit .294.
In the opening set, the Mocs scored the first four points and led 10-5 when the Spartans answered with a 5-0 run out of a timeout to tie the set at 10. Marotti stopped the run with a kill that spearheaded a 3-0 run by the Mocs to retake the lead at 13-10. UT, though, responded with 4-0 run to take a 14-13 lead. The Spartans lead grew to 18-15 before the Mocs pulled within 18-17, but UT would close the set on a 7-2 run to earn a 25-19 win. In the first set, UT was aided by a .435 hitting percentage and seven attack errors from the Mocs.
UT jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set and led 14-7 when the Mocs used a 4-1 run to pull within 15-11 following a kill by Pietkiewicz. The Mocs would eventually pull within 16-13 on an assisted block by Skayhan and Brady, before the Spartans closed the set by scoring nine of the final 13 points to earn a 25-17 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, UT pushed out to a 5-1 lead and led 10-5 when the Mocs used a 5-2 run to pull within 12-10. UT, though, would answer with a 3-0 run to push its lead to 15-10. The Mocs wouldn't go away as they used a 5-2 run to drop UT's lead to 17-15 following a kill by Pietkiewicz. UT would extend its lead back out to 19-16, before the Mocs made one more push as a kill by Kosterlitz made the score 23-21. The Spartans, though, would scored the final two points to seal the win.
For the match, the Mocs hit .157 as they recorded 33 kills and had 30 digs, while UT finished with 47 and 43 digs and hit .313.
UT, who improves to 29-3 on the season, was led by 14 kills and 10 digs from Holly Reschke, while Danielle Selkridge added 11 kills, four blocks and hit .474 for the Spartans, who are seeking its fourth consecutive South Region title as they face No. 3 seed Palm Beach Atlantic in Saturday's regional title match at 7 p.m.
PBA advanced to the finals by earning a three-set win in Friday's first semifinal over No. 7 seed Christian Brothers.
