Box Score TAMPA - Florida Southern opened up play here Thursday in the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament by posting a thrilling five-set victory over fifth-seeded Saint Leo (29-27, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 15-11) in the third of four quarterfinal matches at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the University of Tampa campus.
The fourth-seeded Moccasins, who improved to 22-13 overall on the season, won the first two sets, including posting a 29-27 win in the first set, before watching the Lions storm back to win the third and fourth sets to set up a fifth and deciding set. In the fifth set, the Mocs collected a 15-11 win to advance to Friday's regional semifinals at 7 p.m. It marks the third straight regional semifinal berth of the Mocs as opened last season's South Regional with a five-set win over Eckerd in Tampa, before falling to Tampa in regional finals.
"I am really proud of team. SLU is a very dynamic team and they battled us tonight," Moccasin head coach Jill Stephens said in the postmatch press conference. "We didn't very well in the first set and then SLU was able to take the third and fourth sets. It was an exciting college volleyball match against two really good teams."
In the fifth set, the Mocs scored the first two points and led 6-4 when sophomore setter Lauren Shlemon (Tampa, Fla.) recorded back-to-back aces to push our lead to 8-4. The Lions, though, responded with a 5-2 run to pull within 10-9 following a kill by Jordan Sisson. At the point, the Mocs would turn their offense over to sophomore middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.) and junior right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.) as those two combined to three straight kills to push the Mocs lead to 13-10. After a Lauren Campbell kill brought SLU within 13-11, the Mocs closed out the set and set by scoring a point on a service error by Campbell and then Fernandez and senior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) combined on a block to seal the victory.
"I look to myself as a leader on this team and my job is to make plays and tonight I was able to make some to help us out when we needed them," said Fernandez, who finished with 10 kills and 15 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Brady led the way offensively for the Mocs as she finished with 16 kills and added three blocks, while freshman outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.) gave the Mocs a third player with double-digit kills as she had 12 and added 19 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
In addition to the three Mocs that recorded double-digit kills, sophomore setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) continued her stellar play as she finished with seven kills, 46 assists, nine digs and three assisted blocks on the night. Additionally, the Second-Team All-Sunshine State Conference honoree and honorable mention AVCA All-South Region selection hit a team-best .385 in the win.
"Kayshia and Gabby really stepped up tonight and made some plays, especially in the fifth set," said Stephens, who improved to 10-10 in NCAA Tournament matches as the Mocs coach.
The teams split their two regular season meetings as the Mocs defeated the Lions in four sets in Lakeland on Sept. 24, while SLU returned the favor by picking up a three-set win in Saint Leo on Oct. 29.
In the first set, the Mocs scored the first two points and led 6-4 when the Lions used a 7-2 run to take an 11-8 lead. The Mocs would respond with a 7-4 run capped by back-to-back Lion attack errors to tie the set at 15. The Lions would then use a 7-4 run to take a 22-19 lead, before the Mocs answered with a 5-2 run to tie the set at 24 following a kill by Brady. The two teams would then trade points until the Mocs took advantage of back-to-back Lion errors to collect the 29-27 win.
SLU would score the first two points of the second set and led 11-7 when the Mocs used a 12-4 run to take a 19-15 lead. The run was keyed by seven Lion errors. After Meghan Donovan stopped FSC's run with a kill, the Mocs would close the set by scoring six of the final 11 points to post a 25-21 win and take a 2-0 lead in the set. The Mocs hit .423 in the set and was paced by six kills from Langley.
In the third set, the Lions would jump out to a 12-9 lead and led 13-11 when the Mocs answered with a 5-2 run to take a 16-15 lead following a kill by Brady. The Lions would use a 7-3 run to push its lead to 22-19. The Mocs would score four of the next six points to pull within 24-23 following another kill by Brady, before the Lions capped the set with a kill by Twani Warren. The Mocs hit only .071 in the third set and committed eight attack errors, while SLU hit .237.
The Mocs opened the fourth set by pushing out to a 7-3 lead. The lead, though, would be shortlived as the Lions responded with a 13-4 run to push out to a 16-11 advantage. After Fernandez stopped the run with a kill, the Lions went on a 7-4 run to push in front 23-16. The Mocs wouldn't go away without a fight as they scored three of the next five points to pull within 24-19, but SLU held on the win following a service error by junior outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Ky.). In the fourth set, the Mocs hit .079 and the Lions hit .116.
SLU, who completed its season with a 23-11 record, was led 16 kills and 18 digs from Campbell, while Sisson added 12 kills, five blocks and hit a match-high .478 and Warren added 10 kills and 15 digs in the loss.
On the night, the Mocs hit .182 as a team and recorded 57 kills and 78 digs and outblocked the Lions, 10-9, including Hale finishing with seven blocks to pace the Mocs. SLU finished with a .157 hitting percentage as they had 55 kills and 76 digs.
The Mocs will now face No. 1 ranked and region top seed Tampa in Friday's regionals semifinal at 7 p.m. The Spartans advanced to the regional semifinals with a three-set victory over eighth-seeded Kentucky State (25-16, 25-10, 25-14).
Click here for the video from the post-match press conference
