Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern closed out the home portion of its 2013-14 schedule here Wednesday evening by falling in three sets to Eckerd (21-25, 17-25, 24-26) in Sunshine State Conference action at Jenkins Field House.
With the loss, the Moccasins fell to 19-9 overall on the season, 8-4 in the SSC and finished with a 7-4 mark on its home court, while Eckerd improved to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in the SSC. The Tritons won the season series over the Mocs for just second time ever and the first time since winning both matches during the 2009 campaign. Eckerd, who has now won seven straight matches, picked up a three-set win in St. Petersburg on Oct. 2.
In Wednesday's match, the Mocs offense recorded 41 kills and had 60 digs, but committed 20 attack errors and finished with a .171 hitting percentage, while Eckerd had 43 kills, 58 digs and committed 12 attack errors and finished with a .256 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.) led the way offensively for the Mocs as she finished with 11 kills and added 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Langley also finished the night with a .286 hitting percentage.
In addition to Langley, senior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) added eight kills, while junior right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.) had seven kills, 12 digs and hit .278 in the loss. Sophomore setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) had five kills, 31 assists, nine digs and hit a team-best .400 on the night.
Wednesday's match was a competitive affair as it featured 26 ties and 11 lead changes, including 18 ties and nine lead changes in the third and final set.
In the first set, Eckerd jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 7-3 when the Mocs used 4-0 run to tie the set a 7-all following an ace by junior outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Ky.). The Tritons, though, would respond with a 5-3 run to take a 13-10 lead. The Mocs would answer with a quick 4-0 run to take a 14-13 lead in the set. The lead would be shortlived as Eckerd used a 4-0 run of its own to take a 17-14 advantage. The Mocs would use a 5-2 run to tie the set at 19, but EC would close out the set on a 6-2 run to post a 25-19 win. Langley and Hale each recorded four kills in the set for the Mocs.
The second set was controlled mostly by the Tritons as they jumped out to an 11-5 lead and led 22-11 following an attack error by sophomore middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.). Following Brady's error, the Mocs would use a 4-0 run to pull within 22-15. The run was aided by two kills from Langley and capped by an ace from junior defensive specialist Jasmine Childress (Muncie, Ind.). The Tritons, though, would score three of the set's final five points to post a 25-17 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, EC hit .405 and recorded 17 kills, while FSC hit .211 and had 13 kills.
In the third set, FSC scored the first two points and led 4-1 when EC used a 9-5 run to take a 10-9 lead. The Tritons lead would grow to 12-10 before the Mocs used a 4-0 run that was capped by a kills from Marotti to take a 14-12 advantage. EC would respond with a 4-0 run of their own to take a 16-14 lead, but the Mocs would answer by scoring two consecutive points to retie the set at 16. From that point, the team's would trade points until the Tritons would score the final two points of the set to post the 26-24 win and claim just its eighth-ever victory of the Mocs. Both teams combined for 29 kills in the third set.
Brady, who was seeing her first action in a little more than a week, finished the night with six kills, two solo blocks and a .235 hitting percentage for the Mocs.
Ali McAlvany led the way for Eckerd with 12 kills and seven digs, while Katarina Milojevic added 10 kills and hit .500 in the win. Lindsay Biggs finished with seven kills and a match-high 18 digs for the Tritons.
The Mocs finished with a 5-3 edge in aces as Stromberg and junior libero Catherine Brusie (North Branch, Mich.) each had two in the match, while Eckerd held a 5-4 advantage in blocks.
FSC, who is ranked No. 2 in the initial NCAA Division II South Regional rankings and earned four votes in this week's latest AVCA/Division II Coaches' Poll, will step out of SSC action this weekend as they travel to St. Augustine for two matches on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Mocs will open the day with a match against No. 19 Armstrong Atlantic at 11 a.m. and then conclude the day with a 7 p.m. match against Flagler.
