Box Score SAINT LEO - Florida Southern opened the final week of the 2014 regular season here Wednesday evening by posting a four-set victory over Saint Leo (19-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20) in Sunshine State Conference action at the Bowman Center on the SLU campus.
The victory extended the 14th-ranked Moccasins win streak to five straight matches and improved their overall record to 23-5 and their SSC record to 13-2 heading into Friday's regular season finale at home against Rollins. SLU fell to 18-13 overall and 7-8 in the SSC with the setback.
In Wednesday's victory, the Mocs used a strong defensive effort against the Lions as they recorded 81 digs and outblocked the Lions, 11-5 in the match that lasted two hours. In addition to playing strong defense, the Mocs also recorded six service aces and hit .221 as a team in the victory.
FSC's defensive effort was paced by four Moccasins recording 13 or more digs on the night as senior libero and reigning SSC Defensive Player of the Week Catherine Brusie (North Branch, Mich.) had a match-high 24 digs. Redshirt senior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.) added 17 digs, while junior right side hitter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.) had 15 digs and three aces and senior outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Ky.) posted 13 digs. In addition, freshman middle blocker Allie Geary (Deland, Fla.) and junior middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.) combined for 11 blocks as Geary had six and Brady had five in the win.
While its defense was strong, the Mocs offense was also effective as they finished the night with 53 kills, including 14 kills and a .345 attack percentage from Brady and nine kills from Stromberg. Skayhan just missed a triple-double on the night as she added eight kills, 41 assists to go with her 17 digs and hit .429 and Geary chipped with six kills and hit .333.
The Mocs jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set and led 13-9 when the Lions used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 14. FSC, though, would score the next two points to take a 16-14 lead, before SLU responded with 9-2 scoring run capped by a Katie Adamson kill to take a 23-18 lead. The Mocs would stop the run on an assisted block from Marotti and Brady, but could not get any closer as the Lions scored the set's final two points to post a 25-19 win. In the set, the Mocs were held to an .091 hitting percentage, while the Lions hit .244.
Much like the first set, the Mocs jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the second set, before the Lions scored four consecutive points to take a 6-5 lead. The lead, though, was shortlived as the Mocs responded with a 6-3 run to take an 11-9 lead. SLU would then score three of the next four points to tie the set at 12, before FSC used a 7-4 run capped by a Brady kill to take a 19-16 lead. After a kill from Tawni Warren brought the Lions within two points at 19-17, the Mocs would close out the set by scoring six of the final seven points to post a 25-18 win.
FSC jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and led 10-4 when SLU used a 5-1 run to pull within 11-9. The Mocs would respond with a 9-5 scoring run capped by a Brady kill to push its lead to 20-14. SLU wouldn't go away, though, as the Lions would score four of the next seven points to drop the Mocs lead to 23-18. The Mocs would regroup as they scored two of the final three points in the set, including capping the 25-19 win with a kill by Marotti. In the set, FSC hit .462 and recorded 14 kills and five blocks, while SLU hit .231 and had 16 kills and one block.
Leading 2-1 in the match, the Mocs jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set and pushed its lead to 18-11, before SLU responded with a 7-2 scoring run capped by back-to-back kills from Warren to pull within 20-18. Skayhan would stop the run with a kill of her own to give the Mocs a 21-18 lead and following an attack error by Brady that made the score 21-19, FSC would close out the set and the match by scoring four of the final five points, including a kill from Geary to cap the 25-20 win. In the set, FSC hit .233, had 21 digs and four blocks, while SLU hit .108 and had no blocks and just nine kills.
SLU, who hit .177 as a team in the loss, was paced by 16 kills and a .333 hitting percentage from Alexa Griffith-Hardy, while Warren added 12 kills and hit .370 in the loss. Britt Sederholm was the third Lion to post double-digit kills as she had 10 and added nine digs. Defensively, SLU got 21 digs from Yaidimar Santiago and 11 digs and 25 assists from Rachel Olliff.
The Mocs will now look to end the regular season on a high note as they welcome Rollins for a 7 p.m. Senior Night match on Friday, Nov. 14. The match will mark the final home contest for FSC's six seniors - Brusie, defensive specialist Jasmine Childress (Muncie, Ind.), right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.), Skayhan, Stromberg and defensive specialist Lauren Tekavec (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Those six seniors will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.
