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Box Score 2 ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Southern College volleyball earned a split in its final two matches of the 2016 South Region Crossover on Saturday at the Orlando Sports Complex. The Moccasins (12-5) picked up a 3-0 win over Shorter in their first match of the day before falling to Alabama-Huntsville by a score of 3-1 in their final match of the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SHORTER
• Florida Southern set the tone early, storming out to an 11-0 lead in the first set. The Mocs were never challenged by the Hawks, who did not hit double digits until FSC had already gotten to 24 points, as Florida Southern rolled to a 25-11 first-set win.
• Shorter scored the first point of the second set, but it was the only lead that the Hawks would have during the match. A 7-1 run by Florida Southern would swing the momentum back to the Moccasins, and Shorter was never able to recover. The Hawks did make it close towards the end, pulling within one point (21-20) before FSC scored four of the next five points for a 25-21 second-set win.
• The Mocs again raced out to an early lead in the third set by scoring the first four points and held the lead the rest of the way. Shorter was able to mount a small rally late in the set to make the score 22-20, but Florida Southern hung on for a 25-22 second-set win.
• Florida Southern hit an impressive .313 against Shorter, while holding the Hawks to just .112. Anna Tovo (15) and Rachel Mostert (10) led all players in kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE
• The Mocs fell behind the Chargers early and never led as UAH raced out to an 8-2 lead. Florida Southern would battle back to get within two points (18-16) late in the set, but the Chargers were able to cling to their small lead and took the first set by a score of 25-22.
• The Moccasins evened things up by earning a 25-21 win in the second set. Neither side was able to gain much breathing room throughout the set. FSC led by as many as three points on several occasions, while UAH only led by as many as one point. There were a total of five lead changes and nine ties in the set, which ended with a ball-handling error on the Chargers.
• UAH fell behind early, but was able to stay within striking distance before jumping on top with a 5-1 run early on to make it 10-9. The set would remain close throughout before the Chargers gained some separation by taking a four-point lead (20-16). Florida Southern scored four-straight to tie the contest at 20-20 and force a UAH timeout, but the Chargers held on for a 25-22 third-set win.
• The fourth and final set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. UAH held a 17-14 lead midway through, but the Moccasins were able to string together five-straight points to grab a 19-17 lead. The Chargers would come back to take a 20-19 lead and hung on for a 25-22 fourth-set win.
• Four different Mocs tallied double-digit kills. Anna Tovo (19) led the way while Allie Geary (14), Nicole Mattson (11), and Whitney Drost (10) also hit double figures.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern's loss to UAH snapped a string of nine-straight wins in the annual South Region Crossover. This year's tournament featured 22 teams from the Gulf South Conference and Sunshine State Conference.
• The Moccasins improved to 2-0 all-time against Shorter, and fell to 5-1 all-time against Alabama-Huntsville.
• Anna Tovo recorded 15 kills against Shorter and 19 against Alabama-Huntsville to push her streak of double-digit kill performances to 30-straight matches. She was named to the all-tournament team for her performance over the weekend.
• Brindl Langley finished with 42 digs on the day, 18 against Shorter and 24 against UAH. She pushed her career total to 1,610 and needs just 23 more to move into fourth in school history in career digs. She is 205 away from breaking the school record of 1,814, currently held by Sara Stewart.
• Bethany Besancenez had 89 assists on the day, including 53 in the finale against UAH. It was the fifth time this year that she has eclipsed the 50 assist mark.
2016 South Region Crossover All-Tournament Team
JaQuayla Baker - MB - Eckerd
Corisha Smith - OH - West Florida
Anna Tovo - OH - Florida Southern
Marissa Tandron - S - Lynn
Sarah Ragland - MB - Palm Beach Atlantic
Bri Civiero - OH - Rollins
Allee Stelogeannis - OH - Tampa
Antia Rodriguez-Sanchez - OH - Valdosta State
Susanna Peonia - MB - Valdosta State
Rachel Neblett - MB - West Florida
Molly Burkhardt - S - Palm Beach Atlantic
Jayden Davila-McClary - S - North Alabama
Sydney Chick - L - Valdosta State
Ashtyn Kapovich - L - North Alabama
UP NEXT
• The Mocs return home to face Eckerd on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. before hosting Florida Tech on Oct. 22.
