Box Score WINTER PARK - Florida Southern opened Sunshine State Conference play here Friday evening by posting a hard-fought three-set victory over Rollins (28-26, 25-18, 25-18) at Warden Arena on the Rollins campus.
With the victory, the ninth-ranked Moccasins improved to 9-0 on the season and 1-0 in the SSC, while Rollins fell to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the SSC. Both teams were playing their first SSC matches of the 2015 season.
The 9-0 start is the best for the Mocs since the 1999 squad coached by AVCA, SSC and FSC Hall of Famer Lois Webb also opened the season 9-0 en route to posting 28-8 overall record on the year. It is the seventh 9-0 start in school history.
In Friday's win, which extended the Mocs win streak in SSC play to six straight matches dating to last season, the Mocs used a season high 12 aces, including seven in the first set, a season high 10 blocks and held the Tars to a .010 attack percentage, including limiting them to a -.027 attack percentage in the second set, to earn its sixth win in its last seven matches over the Tars.
On a night when its offense, which came into the match hitting an SSC best .280 on the season, finished with a season low .152 attack percentage, including hitting under .125 in the first and third sets, the Mocs needed its defense and aces to help lead them to the victory. Prior to Friday's match, the Mocs previous season low attack percentage was .202 in its four-set win last Saturday in the Terrace Hotel Classic against Armstrong State.
The Mocs had three players record six or more kills in the win, including a match-high 10 kills from senior right side hitter Kendall Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.). In addition to Marotti, sophomore outside hitter Anna Tovo (Aiken, S.C.) and senior middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Welaka, Fla.) each had six kills. Brady, who hit a team best .385 for the match, had three of her six kills in the second set.
Freshman setter Bethany Besancenez (St. Louis, Mo.) led the way in aces with a career-high four, while Marotti and junior outside hitter Brindl Langley (Camas, Wash.) each had three on the night. Redshirt sophomore libero Nicci Joyce (Farmington Hills, Mich.) tied her season high with two aces.
Along with six kills, Brady recorded a season high six blocks, including a career-high five solo blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Allie Geary (DeLand, Fla.) and junior middle blocker Rachel Mostert (Clearwater, Fla.) each had three blocks.
The Mocs set a new season high in the match with seven solo blocks.
Tovo led the way in digs with a career high 15 and Langley added 13 in the Mocs sixth 3-set victory of the season. FSC has now won 21 straight 3-set matches since dropping a 3-set match to Regis at last season's Colorado Premier Challenge.
In the opening set, the Mocs jumped out to an 8-3 lead and led 9-4 when the Tars scored four consecutive points, including two aces from Rachel Sawyer to pull within 9-8. The Mocs would respond with a 5-1 run, including capping with run with an ace by Besancenez to take a 14-9 lead. Rollins, though, answered with a 7-4 run to pull within 18-16. After three quick points gave the Mocs a 21-16 edge, Rollins would answer by scoring eight of the next 10 points, including back-to-back aces from Kiana Dieudonne to cap the run and give the Tars a 24-23 lead. FSC would score the next two points to take a 25-24 lead, but the Tars would answer with two points of their own to take a 26-25 lead. FSC answered by scoring the set's final three points to take the first set, 28-26. The Mocs finished the set hitting .036 and held Rollins to an .030 attack percentage.
Rollins jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the second set, before the Mocs used a 10-1 run to take a 14-7 lead. The run was aided by two kills and two solo blocks from Brady. FSC's lead eventually grew to 21-13, before the Tars used a 5-1 run capped by two straight aces from April Jackson to pull Rollins within 22-18. That would be as close as the Tars would get as the Mocs scored the set's final three points, including getting two of those points on kills from Brady and Tovo, to earn a 25-18 win. After hitting .036 in the first set, the Mocs hit .303 in the second set.
In the third set, FSC jumped out an 8-2 lead and led 14-5 when the Tars answered with a 7-3 run to drop the Mocs lead to 17-12. After a kill from Marotti and an ace from Langley gave the Mocs a 19-12 edge, the Tars would score five of the next eight points to close the gap to 22-17. The Mocs, though, would score three of the set's final four points to earn the 25-18 set win. FSC hit .118 in the set and held Rollins to an .029 hitting percentage.
Rollins, who has now dropped six straight matches since opening the season with a three-set victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State, was paced by nine kills from Shannon McDonough. Sawyer added five kills and 16 digs and Dieudonne had two aces and four blocks in the loss.
The Tars finished the night with nine aces, including five in the first set and picked up 55 digs in the match. FSC had 35 kills and Rollins finished with 26 kills.
FSC will conclude the two-match road swing on Saturday, Sept. 19 with a 4 p.m. match in Daytona Beach against Embry-Riddle, who improved to 8-0 on the season following its four set home win Friday night over Florida Tech.
