Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. - Florida Southern Volleyball opened up a four-match weekend schedule here at the South/Southeast Region Challenge that is being hosted by Armstrong Atlantic State with a three set win (25-15, 25-19, 25-19) over South Region rival North Alabama.
Adding this win with the three from last weekend at the Courtyard by Marriott/Lynn Invitational, the Jill Stephens led Mocs have won four straight matches to break above the .500 mark (5-4) after starting the season with a 1-4 record.
In a match that saw seven ties and only three lead changes, the Mocs used a balanced attack, hitting .252 for the match and spreading out 42 kills between seven different players.
Freshman middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Crescent City, Fla.) led FSC with nine kills and a .643 hitting percentage, both career highs, during the 68-minute match against North Alabama (1-6 on the season).
Senior middle hitter Morgan Kosterlitz (Dunedin, Fla.) and senior outside hitter Anne Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla.) each contributed eight kills, while junior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.) added five service aces to bring her to a team leading total of 16.
The first set was all FSC as the Mocs jumped out to a 4-0 lead before North Alabama battled back to get within 5-4. That is as close as the Lady Lions would get, the Mocs would stretch their lead to 10 points on a Skayan ace to make the score 20-10 before the teams traded points to end the set.
The second set would see six ties and two lead changes between the two teams as the Mocs and Lady Lions would battle back and forth until midway through the set. FSC would take control of the set during a four point swing that saw the Mocs garner two kills, a block and force an error on North Alabama. An attack error by the Lady Lions would push the Mocs lead to six, 20-14 before the set ended 25-19.
The third and final set saw the Lady Lions come out to a 4-1 lead over the Mocs but a kill by Brady would push FSC into an 8-1 run to force a timeout by North Alabama. After tying the set at 5 during that run, it was all FSC from there as the Mocs would dominate the rest of the set.
UNA was led by six kills and 10 digs from Jessica Ronyak, while Priscilla Massengale and Taylor Chapman each had five kills in the loss.
The Mocs will conclude the first day of tournament action at 7 p.m. Friday as they face 22nd-ranked Flagler.
