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WEST PALM BEACH - Florida Southern ended nearly seven years of frustration against its archrival Tampa here Friday evening as the No. 3 seeded Moccasins took down the reigning Division II National Champion Spartans in a five-set thriller (27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-25, 18-16) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Friday's win snapped a 19 match losing skid to the No. 2 seeded and No. 3 ranked Spartans as prior to Friday's victory, the last time the Mocs defeated its longtime Sunshine State Conference rival was in Lakeland on Sept. 22, 2008. The Mocs won that match in three sets.
"I am kind of speechless right now to be honest with you. Any time you're down 14-11 in the fifth, just being in that situation, we were in that situation earlier this year against Nova and we were the ones up and they came back and beat us and I remember thinking at that moment that it can be done," Moccasin head coach Jill Stephens in the postmatch press conference following Friday's win. "These kids, they never stopped fighting. I think they (Tampa) outdid us in every statistical category, but when it came to heart, these kids played with so much heart, absolutely so proud of them."
With the victory, the 21st-ranked Mocs (25-8) advance to the South Regional finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 1 seeded and 13th-ranked Palm Beach Atlantic, who won a five-set thriller in the second regional semifinal against No. 4 seeded Saint Leo (25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 25-15, 15-8).
"This is just not about this team, but the past few years, these kids have been wanting to be in a regional final, wanting to win a regional final and we have a chance to do that this year and that is just a tribute to our program the past couple of years of how hard they've worked to make it possible," said Stephens, who is now 344-144 in her 15th season at the helm of her alma mater.
It will be the first trip to the regional final for the Mocs since 2007 and the eighth overall regioinal final appearance in school history. Friday's win also extracted some revenge on the Spartans as UT had ended FSC's season in the regional semifinals three times in the last four seasons (2011, 2012 and 2013). Tampa ends its season with a 27-6 record.
"Every time we step on the floor with Tampa, it's an emotional match. It is a huge rivalry, not just the last 10 years, but for 30 years," Stephens said when asked about her team's journey the past few seasons. "Chris Catanach is one of the best coaches I've ever coached against, so every time we step on the floor we have to be great in every way in order to have a chance to win. They have three unbelievable players that are really hard to stop, but I am just so proud."
Sophomore Anna Tovo (Aiken, S.C.) led the way for the Mocs in the win as she finished with 22 kills and added 18 digs for her 19th double-double of the season. Senior middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.) added 14 kills, four blocks and hit .289, while junior outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.) had 12 kills, 17 digs and four blocks in the victory.
The Mocs finished the match with an 11-7 edge in blocks, including sophomore middle blocker Allie Geary having six blocks on the night and the Mocs also recorded 92 digs, including 21 digs from senior right side hitter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.).
UT was paced by a 27 kill night from reigning Division II Player of the Year Berkley Whaley playing in her final collegiate match, while Marissa Lisenbee added 21 kills, hit .315 and had 24 digs in her final collegiate match and Jessica Wagner had 13 kills, three blocks and hit .346 in her final college action. The Spartans recorded 81 kills and hit .281 for the match.
FSC recorded 67 kills and hit .220 in the match that featured 24 ties and nine lead changes, including a combined 14 ties in the first two sets.
After winning the first two sets in close fashion, the Mocs saw the Spartans hit .273 and .406 respectively over the next two sets to force a fifth and decisive set. It was the second five set match of the season between the two teams as UT rallied from a 7-5 deficit in the fifth set in Lakeland on Oct. 8 to earn a 15-10 win and secure its 19th straight victory over the Mocs.
While UT hit .273 and .406 in the third and fourth sets, the Mocs hit .163 and .108 respectively and committed 12 of its 22 attack errors on the night in those two sets.
In the fifth set, UT jumped out to a 9-5 lead and led 14-10 when the Mocs rallied to score five consecutive points to take a 15-14 lead on a kill from freshman outside hitter Nicole Mattson (Oviedo, Fla.). The Spartans, though, would tie the match on a kill from Wagner and then the Mocs retook the lead at 16-15 on a Langley kill. Whaley, though, would once again tie the set at 16 on her fourth and final kill of the set. The Mocs would then take the lead on a Whaley attack error and then sealed its 18-16 win on a kill by Marotti.
"We basically just said that we need to play like we play and we were able to come back, settle down and take care of the ball," said Marotti when asked about her team's comeback in the fifth set. "Our coaches put us in position and we just kept fighting and never gave up."
