DENVER - Despite season high matches in kills from sophomore middle blocker Kayshia Brady and freshman outside hitter Brindl Langley, Florida Southern fell in a five-set thriller here Friday evening to 15th-ranked Truman State (25-23, 34-32, 19-25, 22-25, 14-16) in the Colorado Premier Challenge at the Auraria Events Center on the Metro State University campus.

With the loss, FSC falls to 3-3 on the season, while Truman State, who was playing its first match in the two-day Premier Challenge, improved to 4-1 on the young season.

Brady, who is a native of Welaka, Fla., and Langley, who is a native of Camas, Wash., each set new career highs with18 kills apiece, while junior right side Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.) added 12 kills and nine digs in the match that lasted a little less than two-and-half hours.

The match, which started about 90 minutes after the completion of the Mocs three-set loss to fourth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul in its Premier Challenge opener, featured 41 ties and 20 lead changes, including 22 ties and eight lead changes in the second set that saw the Mocs post a 34-32 win. In fact, the first two sets featured a combined 34 ties and 15 lead changes.

In addition to new career highs for Brady and Langley, sophomore setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) also added new career highs in both kills (9) and assists (56) and tied a career-high with three blocks in the match. The double-double for Marotti was her team-leading fourth of the season.

The Mocs trailed 7-4 early in the opening set, before using a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 lead following an ace by Langley. The Bulldogs, though, would use an 8-3 run to take a 16-13 lead. The lead was shortlived as the Mocs answered with a 7-1 run to push in front 20-17. The run was keyed by four TSU errors. The Bulldogs would use a 3-2 run to retake the lead at 23-22, before Mocs closed the set by scoring the final three points, including capping the win with a kill by Brady to post the 25-23 victory.

In the second set, which saw both team hit over .270 and record a combined 55 kills, the Mocs jumped out to a 15-12 edge and led 20-15 following a kill by senior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.), when TSU used a 6-2 run to take a 22-21 lead after a kill from Ali Peterson. From that point, the Mocs scored two straight points to take a 24-23 lead, but TSU would score two consecutive points to take a 25-24 lead. At the point, the teams would trade points until the Mocs gained control of the set following an attack error by TSU's Kassi Schroeder. Schroeder's error came on set point for the Bulldogs and allowed the Mocs to even things at 32. FSC would close out the set by scoring the final two points, including capping the set with a kill from Hale. Langley and Brady combined to record 13 of FSC's 23 kills in the set as Langley had seven and Brady added six.

Leading 2-0 in the match, the Mocs looked to end things in three sets, but TSU had other plans as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead. The Mocs, though, made things interesting as they used a 14-10 run to drop its deficit to 19-17 following an assisted block by Hale and Marotti. That would be as close as FSC would get as TSU closed the set on a 6-2 run to post a 25-19 win to force a fourth set.

In the fourth set, TSU scored the first two points, before FSC used an 11-1 run thanks to four kills from Brady to take an 11-3 lead. TSU would ultimately prevail in the set as they scored 22 of the set's final 33 points to post a 25-22 win and force a fifth and deciding set. FSC hit .300 in the set, while TSU hit .158.

Much like the first two sets, the fifth and final set would be a back-and-forth affair as their were four ties and two lead changes. The Bulldogs scored the first two points and led 3-1 when the Mocs used a 9-5 run to take a 10-8 lead. During the run, sophomore defensive specialist Lauren Shlemon (Tampa, Fla.) served five consecutive points. TSU, though, scored two straight points to tie the set at 10, before FSC answered with two straight points to take a 12-10 advantage. The Bulldogs used a 4-2 to tie the set at 14 and then closed the set by scoring the final two points to earn a come-from-behind 16-14 win to seal the match victory.

TSU was paced by 13 kills apiece from Abby Heise, Ali Patterson and Emilee Walters, while Allie Brak added 11 kills and 10 digs and Schroeder had 10 kills. Patterson hit .357 and Walters hit .321 in the win for the Bulldogs.

The Mocs defense outdug the Bulldogs, 86-76, including junior libero Catherine Brusie (North Branch, Mich.) recorded an FSC career-high 20 digs and Shlemon picked up a career-high 19 digs. Abby Moser had 16 digs and Heather Hargadine had 16 and 15 digs respectively.

FSC finished the match hitting .190 and had 72 kills, while TSU had 65 kills and hit .207. Both teams combined for 61 attack errors and 22 service errors for the match.

The Mocs will continue play in the Colorado Premier Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 14 as the Mocs will face tournament host Metro State (3-3) in a Bronze Division semifinal match at 2 p.m. at Metro State. The other Bronze Division semifinal will pit ninth-ranked West Texas A&M (5-2) against Adams State (2-4) at 10:30 a.m. at Metro State. The two semifinal winners will play each other in the Bronze Division first place match at Metro State at 7 p.m., while the two semifinal losers will meet in the Bronze Division third-place match at 4:30 p.m. at Metro State.

Here are the complete results from the first day of the Colorado Premier Challenge - Pool Play
#4 Concordia-St. Paul 3, Florida Southern 0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-10) - Pool I
#1 Tampa 3, #9 West Texas A&M 1 (25-16, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) - Pool II
#14 Southwest Minnesota State 3, Adams State 1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-23, 25-17) - Pool III
#11 Angelo State 3, #3 Nebraska-Kearney 1 (25-20, 11-25, 25-16, 25-16) - Pool IV
#15 Truman State 3, Florida Southern 2 (23-25, 32-34, 25-19, 25-22, 16-14) - Pool I
#21 Regis 3, #9 West Texas A&M 2 (18, 25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-11) - Pool II
#17 West Florida 3, Adams State 2 (12-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-8) - Pool III
#11 Angelo State 3, Metro State 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-19) - Pool IV
#3 Nebraska-Kearney 3, Metro State (25-17, 25-17, 25-18) - Pool IV
#4 Concordia-St. Paul 3, Truman State (25-9, 25-16, 25-17) - Pool I
#1 Tampa 3, #21 Regis 1 (25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 25-18) - Pool II
#14 Southwest Minnesota State 3, #17 West Florida 2 (25-20, 25-22, 30-32, 20-25, 15-7) - Pool III
Complete Schedule for Saturday, Sept. 14 (Division Play)
Gold Division: #1 Tampa vs. #14 Southwest Minnesota State, 11:30 a.m. (@Regis)
Silver Division: #21 Regis vs. #17 West Florida, 11:30 a.m. (@Metro State)
Bronze Division: #9 West Texas A&M vs. Adams State, 11:30 a.m. (@Metro State)
Gold Division: #4 Concordia-St. Paul vs. #11 Angelo State, 2 p.m. (@Regis)
Silver Division: #15 Truman State vs. #3 Nebraska-Kearney, 2 p.m. (@Metro State)
Bronze Division: Florida Southern at Metro State, 2 p.m. (@Metro State)
Silver Division 3rd Place: Regis/UWF loser vs. TSU/UNK loser, 4:30 p.m. (@Metro State)
Bronze Division 3rd Place: WTAMU/Adams St. loser vs. FSC/MSU loser, 4:30 p.m. (@Metro State)
Gold Division 3rd Place: UT/SWMS vs. CU/ASU, 7 p.m. (@Regis)
Silver Division 1st Place: Regis/UWF winner vs. TSU/UNK winner, 7 p.m. (@Metro State)
Bronze Division 1st Place: WTAMU/Adams St. winner vs. FSC/MSU winner, 7 p.m. (@Metro State)
Gold Division 1st Place: UT/SWMSU winner vs. CU/ASU winner, 9 p.m. (@Regis)

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