LAKELAND - Florida Southern used a balance offensive attack here Saturday afternoon to return to the win column as the Moccasins posted a three-set victory over Belmont Abbey (25-16, 25-22, 25-15) in its first match on the second and final day of the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic at Jenkins Field House.

The Mocs, who improved to 2-1 on the young season, was paced by 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage by junior right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.), while sophomore middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.) added 12 kills and hit .292 on the match. FSC finished with 47 kills and a .254 hitting percentage.

In addition to its balanced offensive attack that featured four players record six or more kills, the Mocs defense also turned in a strong effort as they held the Crusaders, who are the preseason favorite to repeat as the Conference Carolinas Champion and return to the NCAA D-II Tournament for the second straight year, to an .084 hitting percentage and forced them into 16 attack errors.

The Mocs defense recorded 75 digs, including a career-high 18 from sophomore setter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) and 15 from freshman outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.).

In the first set, the Mocs offense hit .275 and had 12 kills, including three each from senior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) and junior outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Ky.). The Mocs trailed 12-11 early on, but used a 5-1 run to take a 16-13 lead following kill by Hale. After BAC scored two straight points to pull within 16-15, the Mocs answered with a 9-1 run to close out the set and post the 25-16 win.

The Mocs jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the second set, before BAC used a 3-1 run to pull within 11-10 following a kill by Hannah Schellenberg. Following Schellenberg's kill, FSC used a 7-4 run to push its lead to 18-14 following another Brady kill. The Crusaders, though, wouldn't go away as they scored two straight points to drop FSC's lead to 18-17. BAC wouldn't get any closer, though, as the Mocs scored seven of the final 12 points in the set to post a 25-22 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set, neither team could gain much momentum early on until the Mocs used an 8-1 scoring run to turn a 9-9 tie into a 17-10 lead. The run was capped by a Stromberg kill. BAC would attempt a come back as they used a 3-1 run to move within 18-13, before the Mocs used a 7-2 scoring run to post a 25-15 win and seal their second win of the season. One of the kills during the final scoring run came from freshman middle blocker Rachel Mostert (Clearwater, Fla.), who made her collegiate debut in the match.

In addition to Fernandez and Brady, Stromberg added eight kills and 13 digs in the win, while Langley had six kills to go with her 15 digs.

BAC was paced by nine kills and nine digs from Lydia Schellenberg, while Caitlin Hankins added eight kills and hit a team-high .471 in the loss.

For the match, the Mocs also recorded six aces, including two apiece from Marotti and junior libero Catherine Brusie (North Branch, Mich.). In addition, FSC held a 4-3 edge on total team blocks.

The Mocs will close out its season opening FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night as they face Wisconsin-Parkside (2-1), who suffered its first loss of the season earlier in the day in three set to No. 2 ranked Tampa. UWP is coached by former Moccasin Christine Paciero, who graduated from FSC in 1991 and was a member of the school's NCAA Division II National Semifinalist squad in 1990.