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Box Score 2 LAKELAND, FL – Florida Southern College volleyball cruised to a pair of victories on Saturday, the final day of the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic at Jenkins Field House. The No. 23 Moccasins (6-1) swept LIU Post, 3-0, in their first match of the day before closing out the tournament with a 3-0 win over UC-Colorado Springs.
In the process, Florida Southern extended its winning streak to four matches, which have all come via 3-0 victories. The Mocs have won nine-straight home contests dating back to Oct. 20, 2015, and have won 12-straight contests at the annual FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic dating back to Sept. 7, 2013.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LIU POST
• Florida Southern jumped out to an early four-point lead (5-1), but the Pioneers were able to chip away and cut the deficit to just one point (8-7) several moments later. The Mocs responded with a quick 5-1 run to extend the lead to 13-8, but LIU Post hung tough and used a late run of its own to cut the deficit to just two (21-19). FSC was able to rebound by scoring four of the final six points for a 25-21 first-set win.
• The second set saw the Moccasins gain the early momentum by racing out to a 6-1 lead and forcing a Pioneer timeout. LIU Post was able to steady itself and cut the deficit to one point (12-11) to force a Florida Southern timeout. The break did little to stop the Pioneers momentum, as they were able to extend their lead to as many as three points (17-14), and clung to a late one-point lead (19-18). However, FSC would finish the set on a 7-1 run to take a 25-20 second-set victory.
• In the third and final set, both teams were neck-and-neck until the Mocs reeled off a 6-0 run midway through the set to take a 17-11 lead. LIU Post would never recover as FSC went on to close out the match with a 25-17 third-set win.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST UC-COLORADO SPRINGS
• The Moccasins were locked in early as they raced out to a 7-0 lead. The Mountain Lions responded with a quick 5-1 run to cut the deficit to three points (8-5), but a 5-0 run by Florida Southern later in the set gave it a commanding 18-7 lead en route to an easy 25-16 first-set win.
• Florida Southern looked as if it would cruise to another easy win in the second set as it held a 17-10 lead, but UC-Colorado Springs mounted an impressive comeback to tie the match at 24-24. The teams would trade points until the score stood at 26-26, that's when a kill from freshman Allison Hart would give the Mocs a one-point lead (27-26) and the duo of Bethany Besancenez and Rachel Mostert came up with the set-clinching block as FSC earned a 28-26 set victory.
• The third and final set of the match was dominated by the Moccasins, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed. The Mountain Lions got within a point midway through the set (10-9), but Florida Southern scored 10 of the next 15 points to take a 20-14 lead en route to a 25-18 third-set win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Allie Geary (13), Whitney Drost (12) and Anna Tovo (12) each had double-digit kills against LIU Post. Tovo also had 15 against UC-Colorado Springs, and has recorded double-digit kills in 20-straight matches dating back to Oct. 24, 2015.
• Bethany Besancenez tallied 78 assists on the day including 42 against LIU-Post. It was her third match of the season with at least 40 assists. She has finished with 40 or more assists eight times in her career.
• Florida Southern improved to 5-0 against LIU Post. The win against UC-Colorado Springs was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
• Tovo and Besancenez were named to the Terrace Hotel Classic all-tournament team. Tovo had 47 kills (5.22 k/s), 24 digs (2.67 d/s) and five blocks (0.56 b/s) over the two-day tournament while Besancenez had 119 assists (13.22 a/s) and 21 digs (2.33 d/s).
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Bethany Besancenez (Florida Southern)
Anna Tovo (Florida Southern)
Danielle Valenza (LIU Post)
Brie Civiero (Rollins)
Shannon McDonough (Rollins)
Alyssa Brinton (UC-Colorado Springs)
Anna McGee (Texas Woman's)
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern opens Sunshine State Conference play when it hosts Saint Leo at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 before hitting the road for three-straight matches against Eckerd (Sept. 17), Nova Southeastern (Sept. 23) and No. 19 Palm Beach Atlantic (Sept. 24).
