Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern continued its strong play at home this season here Friday evening as the Moccasins collected a hard-fought three-set non-conference victory over Embry-Riddle (25-17, 25-23, 25-23) to extend its win streak at Jenkins Field House to four consecutive matches.
With the win, the Mocs improve to 11-4 on the season and 5-1 at home, while ERAU had its six-match win streak snapped as they fell to 11-6 on the season.
The Mocs used a strong defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack as they had five players record at least seven kills on the night and its defense held the Eagles, who are ranked 14th in the latest Tachikara-NAIA Coaches' Poll, to a .109 hitting percentage and recorded a total of eight blocks in the match that lasted a little less than 90 minutes.
FSC's offensive attack was paced by 11 kills and a .391 hitting percentage from sophomore middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.), while senior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) added nine kills and a .316 hitting percentage and junior right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.) recorded eight kills, six digs and two blocks in the win.
Along with her strong offensive performance, Brady was also strong at the net on the night as she recorded a season-high tying four blocks, including two solo blocks and junior outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Ky.) recorded a team-best 15 digs and had seven kills for the match.
In the first set, the Mocs jumped out to a 4-1 lead, before ERAU, who is a member of The Sun Conference, used a 6-3 run to tie the set at 7-all. FSC, though, would respond with a 7-2 run capped by an ace from Stromberg to pull out to a 14-9 lead. The Eagles would get within 15-12 following a kill by Jennifer Beatty, but FSC would close the set on a 10-5 run to post the 25-17 win.
FSC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set thanks to back-to-back aces by Stromberg and a service error by EARU's Tamires Ferreira. ERAU would respond with an 8-5 run to tie things up at 8. The Mocs, though, would use a 4-1 run to take a 12-9 lead, before the Eagles came back with a 5-3 run to pull within 15-14. The Mocs would once again push its lead out to 19-15, before ERAU answered with a 4-1 run to drop FSC's lead to 20-19. After the team's traded points, the Mocs took advantage of three consecutive errors by the Eagles to push its lead to 24-20, but ERAU would score three straight points to pull within 24-23. The Mocs ended the set though on a kill by Fernandez to post the 25-23 win and take a 2-0 edge in the match.
In the third and final set, ERAU scored the first two points and led 4-2 when the Mocs used an 11-7 run capped by a kill from Langley to take a 13-9 lead. The Eagles, though, wouldn't go away without a fight as they went on an 11-9 run to tie the set at 21. Following a timeout, the Mocs responded with back-to-back kills from Brady and Fernandez to take a 23-21 lead. ERAU would answer with back-to-back kills from Beatty and Emily Jacobson to tie things up again at 23. The Mocs would seal the win thanks to two consecutive attack errors by the Eagles, including one that led to an assisted block by Hale and Fernandez to earn the 25-23 win and collect its sixth three-set victory of the season. In the third set, FSC held ERAU to a .064 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) continued her standout play as she recorded 40 assists and added 11 digs for her team-leading ninth double-double of the season, while freshman outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.) finished with seven kills and 14 digs and junior libero Catherine Brusie (North Branch, Mich.) added 12 digs in the victory.
The Eagles were paced by nine kills from Beatty, while Jacobson and Morgan Shattuck each added seven kills in the loss. Hannah Gray finished with a match-high 18 digs, while Ferreira posted a double-double with 12 digs and 23 assists.
For the match, FSC hit just .191 as they recorded 42 kills and 64 digs, but had four aces, while ERAU recorded 35 kills, 64 digs and two aces on the night.
The Mocs will continue its four-match homestand with another non-conference match on Tuesday, Oct. 8 against Palm Beach Atlantic. The "Pink Out" Night match for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
