Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Florida Southern College volleyball saw its postseason run come to an end with a 3-1 loss to No. 10 Palm Beach Atlantic in the championship match of the 2016 NCAA Division II South Regional on Saturday at Rubin Arena. The Moccasins (22-11) finished as the regional runner-up for the second-straight season, while the Sailfish (31-3) picked up their 31st-straight win to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Palm Beach Atlantic raced out to a quick 8-3 lead in the first set to force a Florida Southern timeout. The Sailfish would score five of the next seven points to extend their lead to 13-5 and force the Moccasins to use their second timeout. PBA would push its lead to 11 points in the late stages of the set, and cruised to a 25-12 first-set win.
• The second set saw Florida Southern take an early 7-5 lead, but the Sailfish would battle back to jump in front 10-8. FSC was able to trim the lead to 11-10, but Palm Beach Atlantic would score five-straight points to make it 16-10 and seize the momentum. Florida Southern was able to come within four points later in the set, but the Sailfish would prevail by a score of 25-17.
• The Moccasins were able to take the third set by a 25-22 score. Florida Southern raced out to an early 8-2 lead and never trailed in the set. Trailing 20-15 in the late stages, PBA would score four in a row to close the gap to one point (20-19), but the Mocs hung out to make the score 2-1.
• The fourth and final set was an intense battle early on, as Florida Southern clung to a 9-8 lead. However, Palm Beach Atlantic reeled off a 7-1 run to take a 15-10 lead and Florida Southern would never recover as the Sailfish won the South Region title with a 25-18 third-set win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern dropped to 25-33 all time in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Moccasins also fell to 8-7 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic. The Sailfish have won four-straight against the Mocs.
• Anna Tovo recorded 20 kills in the loss to give her 544 for the year, the ninth-highest single-season total in school history. Tovo had at least 20 kills in seven matches this year.
• Brindl Langley tallied 20 digs in the contest to finish her career with 1,923 - the best in school history. She finished with 629 digs this year, the third-best single-season total in school history.
• Bethany Besancenez, Nicole Mattson, and Tovo were named to the NCAA Division II South Region All-Tournament Team.
